Message developed as part of series inspired and adapted from Max Lucado’s book 3:16, Numbers of Hope, study guide materials, and his sermon series by the same title.
Scripture: 1 John 4:9-10; Genesis 22; John 1
Title: He Gave
Series: 3:16 (part 3)
Introduction
Thirteen-year-old Logan Henderson lives on a ranch located in the middle of Nebraska. Isolated from much of the world - he often listens to a Christian radio station out of Houston, Tex. which he picks up on Sky Angel. In late October 2007 Logan made a call to the station…
[play audio from “the Sky Angel Cowboy; please see at
http://www.ksbj.org/eblogs/morningShow/?p=113]
“God gave his Son too.” It wasn’t to put down a broken world, but to give it life.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.”
And, as that little boy said. God gave his son for a purpose. The purpose for which God gave His son is that “Whosoever will believe in Him shall not die but have everlasting life.”
Before we leave this morning, you need to personally know that God gave His one and only son for you. Please turn to 1 John 4:9-10
I. God Gave His One and Only Son
Last time we focused in on the love of God, “For God so loved.” Today I want you to focus on how that love was manifested. Read 1 John 4:9-10.
The first thing I want you to remember this morning is the answer to the question “what did God give?” Perhaps I should ask the question this way, “Who did God give?”
God gave his one and only son. The scripture in 3:16 and 1 John 4 both carry the title “only begotten” or one and only son.
Perhaps you read in the first entry in Max Lucado’s 40-day devotional that we gave you last week, that the original word that describes Jesus is the word, “monogenes.” Of course mono means one, and we use the term genes, or genetic more frequently now, meaning that it has to do with essential elements that make up a human being. Thus, the one who is the monogenetic son of God has a special relationship to God.
All of us are made in the image of God, but Jesus is the only begotten Son. He has a unique sonship. The O.T. gives us an example of this in Abraham and Isaac.
Let me remind you about Abraham. In Genesis, he was promised by God that he would be the father of countless generations. Great! But he didn’t have any children and was older than everyone here. As time passed, and he and his wife were not producing even one child let alone nations, they decided to let Abraham father a child with one of their servants. A son named Ishmael was born, but God was not pleased because this was not according to God’s will.
With God’s help Abraham and Sara finally had Isaac. Of course Abraham loved Ishmael, but Isaac was special. He was unique to God’s plan between Abraham and Sara. In this sense, even though he had another child, Isaac was Abraham’s only begotten. Then when Isaac was maybe about the age of that boy on the radio, God asked for Abraham to give him something. Abraham was supposed to sacrifice his special son to God.
Read Genesis 22.1-2; 6-8
Abraham was ready with knife in hand to sacrifice his son, but then the Lord stopped him. It was a test and Abraham had passed. But what about the sacrifice? There was a perfect sacrifice waiting for them there. A ram was caught by his horns, and he was sacrificed there instead of Isaac.
Read Genesis 22:15-18.
We may not relate with God in every way. But we can empathize with these stories. Whether it is a child putting down a special calf or even the father of our faith sacrificing his special child, we know that God gave too.
But as I said God gave his son for a purpose. It was to fulfill that through the seed of Abraham all the earth will be blessed.
II. God Gave an Offer of Salvation
Turn to John 1:9-13
Jesus’ purpose was to come into the world to save the world which actually created, but the world did not know Him. It says, “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”
That leads us to the second thing I want you to remember this morning. God gave the world an offer. God gave his only begotten Son, and secondly god gave the world an offer.
Go back up to verses 4-5 of John 1. He came offering light and life, but the world did not comprehend him, refused to know him. BUT…verse 12 But as many as will receive Him, will believe in his name are given the right to become children of God.
You have the beautiful opportunity to accept God’s offer. It is a gift to you if you will believe on the one and only son. But how can this be? How can believing in Jesus save you?
Think back to 1 John which said that God, ” sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Jesus is just like the ram that was sacrificed instead of Isaac.
Jesus was made an atoning sacrifice for you the world. That is what an atoning sacrifice does. It takes on and takes away the sins of the people. That is why God not only gave Jesus to the cruel world, but also gave him up to the cross.
You see, we like to focus on the fact that God so loved. But the real means of our salvation is the offer that came through the fact that God gave. One writer put it this way, “This is the heart of the Gospel. Not ‘God is Love’—a precious truth, but affirming no divine act for our redemption.”~Temple.
Jesus Christ came into the world that so often rejected him, to die on a cross so that you would not have to die for the punishment of your sin. It is the gospel, and God has given his son, that you may be given the offer right now. Will you believe on Him as your atoning sacrifice today?
Conclusion
God gave. He gave the one and only son for the world. He gives you an opportunity…an offer today. God gave. But God gives right now to you.
