Live Forever In The Light Of The Lord! Series

Live Forever in the Light of the Lord!

The Gospel of John

John 3:17-21 (Reading vs. 14-21)

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - June 29, 2016

(Revised July 13, 2019)

BACKGROUND:

*Tonight in John 3, we will finish the crucial conversation that began when Nicodemus the Pharisee went to see Jesus by night. The Lord explained to Nicodemus that we must be born again spiritually in order to have everlasting life in the Kingdom of God. Our main focus tonight will be on vs. 17-21, but for context we'll begin reading at vs. 14.

*For background, remember that in vs. 14-15, Jesus said:

14. . . "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

15. that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

*Nicodemus was very familiar with the Lord's comparison in vs. 14. This Old Testament story is found in Numbers 21:4-9. There God's Word is talking about Moses and the Children of Israel. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, it was almost time for God's people to go into the Promised Land. But they were still mumbling and grumbling against both Moses and God.

*Listen to what happened in Numbers 21:4-9:

4. Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way.

5. And the people spoke against God and against Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.''

6. So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

7. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.'' So Moses prayed for the people.

8. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.''

9. So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

*Look and live! That was the only hope for the Children of Israel who had been bitten by those fiery serpents. And it's the only hope for people today!

*Fourteen hundred years before Jesus was born, God gave an Old Testament picture of what Christ was going to do on the cross for us. The holy, holy, holy Son of God was going to become like a hated, dead snake on a pole for our sins. That why in vs. 14, Jesus said: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up."

*With this background in mind, let's read vs. 14-21, and as we read please think about living forever in the light of the Lord.

MESSAGE:

*Take a moment to think about our sun. We tend to take it for granted, because it's up there in the sky every day. But our local star really is amazing. It's 93 million miles away, and 864,000 miles across. About one million earths could fit inside! That boggles my mind. And the sun is hot. At the core of the sun the temperature is 28,799,540 degrees Fahrenheit! (1)

*Without the heat and light of the sun, life as we know it could not exist on the earth. The sun is essential. But the real Light of the world infinitely more essential. The sun is amazing. But the real Light of the world infinitely more amazing, because Jesus Christ is the Light of the world!

*God wants everybody to live forever in the light of the Lord. And tonight's Scripture shines God's light on some vital things we need to see.

1. THE FIRST IS GOD'S RICH SALVATION.

*And we can see it in vs. 17, where Jesus said, "God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him MIGHT BE SAVED."

*Thank God that the Father didn't send His Son here to condemn us! It surely would have been a whole lot easier for Him. And we surely did deserve His condemnation! But out of God's great love, the Father was willing to sacrifice His only begotten Son on the cross for our sins, and the Son was willing to take the punishment for our sins on the cross.

*Hebrews 9:24-28 gives us great news about the Lord's sacrifice for our sins: