God's Whoever Policy Series

INTRODUCTION

• SLIDE 1

• It is so good to be able to come together to CELEBRATE this WONDERFUL holiday!

• Many people will have many questions as to why we even have this holiday; they wonder why God would send His Son to die on a cross for mankind.

• Many are confused over why the “CREATOR” would allow such a thing to take place.

• Over the past few weeks we have been looking at a passage that has been called the Rosetta Stone of the Bible.

• It is a simple passage that once you understand it, many questions you have concerning God will be answered.

• Let us look at this wonderful passage together!

• SLIDE #2

• From this verse we have thus far learned that God loves and His for us love led Him to give us His Son. We are called to respond by believing in Him so that we can live or as it is put, have eternal life!

• We learn from John 3:16 that ALL God has done, He has done out of LOVE. God created you and He loves you, He sent His Son for you because He LOVES you!

• Now the question is WHO can have eternal life, WHO can believe?

• There is one word in this passage that should bring great JOY and HOPE to all!

• That word is WHOEVER!

• Jesus could have narrowed the scope of who could be saved and who God loves, but:

• Notice that God does not say that certain people of certain races from certain countries with a certain social status can have eternal life, the verse says WHOEVER!

• The GREAT news is that all of us are WHO EVER!

• God used the all inclusive word WHOEVER in several passages in the bible.

• SLIDE #3

• Matthew 10:39 ( ESV ) Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

• SLIDE #4

• Mark 3:35 ( ESV ) Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

• SLIDE #5

• Mark 16:16 ( ESV ) Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

• SLIDE #6

• John 4:14 ( ESV ) but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

• Titus 2:11 assures us that “the grace of God . . . has appeared to all men.” Paul contends that Jesus Christ sacrificed himself “to win freedom for all mankind” (1 Tim. 2:6 NEB). Peter affirms that “it is not his [God’s] will for any to be lost, but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9 NEB). God’s gospel has a “whoever” policy. In his policy: (Max Lucado, 3:16 The Numbers of Hope)

• SLIDE #7

SERMON

I. Whoever means however.

• We need to realize that God’s whoever policy means that God will take us however we are. God wants you!

• I wonder how many people feel for whatever reason that God would not accept them? Most of us have done things in life that makes us feel unworthy of God’s love; some folks have had things done to them that makes them feel unworthy of God’s acceptance.

• It does not matter how you are because God will take you however you are. The wonderful thing about God is He will help you to be what you can be; He will help you to fulfill who you are in Him.

• Here is a thought for those who think they have done too many bad things to be forgiven.

• SLIDE #8

• Luke 23:34 ( ESV ) And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

• If you do know what is happing here, Jesus had been falsely accused, beat half to death and then while He is dying on the cross, Jesus asks God to forgive those who did it to Him as they are getting ready to gamble for His clothing.

• Jesus was willing to forgive those who crucified Him, do you think He can forgive you.

• Last week we looked at the story of the rich man and Lazarus. If you were to look at these two men, I wonder how many of us would think that God was ready to take the rich man with Him instead of Lazarus.

• I wonder how Lazarus felt during his life about his future prospects with God.

• Listen to what happened to him during his life compared to the rich man.