Believe the Best about Jesus
John 3:16
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - April 20, 2008
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
*John 3:16 is the most known and best loved verse in the Bible. No other single verse has led more people to salvation. Martin Luther called John 3:16 the miniature gospel. It has also been called the Gospel in a nutshell, and a love letter from God written in blood and addressed to all. (1)
*Max Lucado called it “a twenty-six word parade of hope: beginning with God, ending with life, and urging us to do the same. Brief enough to write on a napkin or memorize in a moment, yet solid enough to weather two thousand years of storms and questions. If you know nothing of the Bible, start here. If you know everything in the Bible, return here. We all need the reminder. (2)
*John 3:16 is the heart of the Gospel straight from the heart of God. God so loved the world! God wants to touch your life with His love. God wants to transform your life with His love, and He will, -- if you will believe.
1. First: Believe that God is reaching out to you.
*I promise you that God is reaching out to you today! And I can make this promise because “God so loved the world.”
*Walter Wilson once said that “no one in all the world could possibly love everyone in the world. In fact most people find it difficult to love all their relatives. But God has found it possible, with His great heart of love, to love every individual in the entire world in spite of their faults.
-God loves the Jews - but also the Russians, Chinese, Arabs, Americans, English, Japanese, everyone.
-‘Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight.’
*God loves the civilized -- but also the savages.
-God loves the Baptists -- but also Methodists, Lutherans and Presbyterians too.
-God loves preachers -- but also murderers, gamblers, bartenders and prostitutes.” (1)
*“God so loved the world.” That’s why you can believe He is reaching out to you.
*But there is another reason why. It’s that wonderful word “whoever” in John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
*Whoever means you!-- And that changes everything. Ron Hutchcraft says, “When I was in Junior High School, we usually bought one copy of the local newspaper each day, -- until the day after I won the County Spelling Bee! Aren’t you impressed? Autographs will come later.
*Well, that day we got about 20 copies of the local newspaper. What was the difference? My name was in it this time!
*Actually, getting all those newspapers wasn’t unique. You know, we’re all like that. When our name is in something we’re suddenly a whole lot more interested. It’s that way with what may be the most important statement in all the Bible” ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His one only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have Eternal Life.’” (3)
*That “whoever” means YOU. God wants you to put your name in that blank. As Max Lucado said, “‘Whoever’ invites the world to God. The pronoun is wonderfully indefinite. After all, who isn’t a ‘whoever’?”
*Whoever makes it clear: God exports his grace worldwide. So Jesus said:
-“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” (Matt. 10:32)
-“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matt. 10:39)
-“Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)
-“Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” (John 6:37)
-“Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:26) (4)
*You must believe that God is reaching out to you.
2. But also believe that He has given the rarest gift for you.
*Jesus Christ is the rarest, most precious gift the world will ever see. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” God gave His only begotten Son, His one of a kind, one and only Son, the God-man Jesus Christ.
*The Greek word for “one and only” is “monogenes.” It’s where we get our word “genetics.” The point is that Jesus shares God the Father’s DNA so to speak. Jesus isn’t begotten in the sense that He began, but in the sense that he and God have the same essence, eternal life span, unending wisdom, and tireless energy. Every quality we attribute to God the Father, we can attribute to Jesus. Jesus was God’s unique and sinless Son: the only one with a holy heart. (5)
1-So Jesus is unique in His humanity.
*Jesus is and always has been God the Son, but 2,000 years ago He humbled Himself to become a man. The Scripture makes this clear in many places.
*The Old Testament prophet Micah spoke of the pre-existence of the Messiah, when he said: “But you, Bethlehem, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2)
*The Apostle John was talking about Jesus when he said:
1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2. He was in the beginning with God.
3. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4)
*Jesus surely affirmed His unique existence. For example, in John 8:56-58 Jesus claimed to have existed in Abraham’s day. Jesus said:
56. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."
57. Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"
58. Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."
*On the night before He died on the cross, Jesus prayed to the Father and said:
4. “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.
5. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (John 17:4-5)
*God gave His one of a kind, one and only Son for you. His humanity is unique.
2-And His ability is unique.
*No one can save you but Jesus. He is the only Savior of the world. So Max Lucado wrote: “Don’t believe in you; you can’t save you. And don’t believe in others; they can’t save you. . . Some historians clump Christ with Moses, Muhammad, Confucius, and other spiritual leaders. But Jesus refuses to share the page. He declares, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me’ (John 14:6). . .
*Many recoil at such definitiveness. John 14:6 sounds primitive in this era of broadbands and broad minds. The world is shrinking, cultures are blending, borders are bending; this is the day of inclusion. All roads lead to heaven, right? But can they? Can all approaches to God be correct?
-Islam says Jesus was not crucified. Christians say he was. Both can’t be right.
-Judaism refuses the claim of Christ as the Messiah. Christians accept it. Someone’s making a mistake.
-Buddhists look toward Nirvana, achieved after multiple reincarnations. Christians believe in one life, one death, and an eternity of enjoying God. Doesn’t one view exclude the other? Somebody is wrong. . .
*Most supremely, every non-Christian religion says, ‘You can save you.’ Jesus says, ‘My death on the cross saves you. . .’
*Christ came, not for the strong, but for the weak, -- not for the righteous, but for the sinner. He offers a unique-to-him invitation in which he works and we trust. He dies and we live. He invites and we believe. (6)
*You must believe that God the Father has given has given the rarest gift for you: His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
3. But also believe that Jesus paid the highest ransom for you.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” to die on the cross for our sins! No greater price could have ever been paid. In John 15:13 Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
*Peter reminds believers:
18. . . . that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
19. but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
20. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
21. who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Pet 1:18-21)
*A week ago last Tuesday (04/08/08) the Medal of Honor was posthumously awarded to Navy Seal Michael Monsoor. Here is part of what President Bush said to Michael’s family and those gathered at the White House:
*“In September 2006, Michael laid down his life for his brothers in arms. Today, we remember the life of this faithful Navy SEAL. The Medal of Honor is awarded for an act of such courage that no one could rightly be expected to undertake it. Yet those who knew Michael Monsoor were not surprised when he did.
*This son of Orange County, California, grew up in a family where helping others was a way of life. Mike’s father was a Marine; his mother a social worker. Together, they raised their four children to understand the meaning of service and sacrifice. . .
*In some ways, Mike was an unlikely candidate for the Navy. He suffered from terrible asthma as a child. On some nights, his coughing fits would land him in the hospital. But Mike would not lie low for long. He strengthened his lungs by racing his siblings in the swimming pool. He worked to wean himself off his inhaler. He built himself into a superb athlete, excelling from sports like football to snowboarding.
*After enlisting in the Navy, he began preparing for the ultimate test of physical endurance: SEAL training. Less than a third of those who begin this training become SEALs. But Mike would not be denied a spot. In September 2004, he earned the right to wear the Navy SEAL trident.
*When Mike deployed with his team to Ramadi in the spring of 2006, he brought that attitude with him. . . The SEALs carried out a broad range of special operations against terrorists and insurgents. Overall, Mike’s platoon came under enemy attack during 75% of their missions. And in most of these engagements, Mike was out front defending his brothers.
*In May 2006, Mike and another SEAL ran into the line of fire to save a wounded teammate. With bullets flying all around them, Mike returned fire with one hand while helping pull the injured man to safety with the other. In a dream about the incident months later, the wounded SEAL saw Mike coming to the rescue with wings on his shoulders.
*On Sept. 29, 2006, Michael Monsoor would make the ultimate sacrifice. Mike and two teammates had taken position on a rooftop when an insurgent grenade bounced off Mike’s chest and landed on the roof.
*Mike had a clear chance to escape, but he realized that the other two SEALs did not. In that terrible moment, he had two options: to save himself, or to save his friends. For Mike, this was no choice at all. He threw himself onto the grenade, and absorbed the blast with his body. One of the survivors puts it this way: “Mikey looked death in the face that day and said, ‘You cannot take my brothers. I will go in their stead.’” (7)
*That is what Jesus did for you. He paid the ultimate price. He made the ultimate sacrifice for you. Believe that Jesus paid the highest ransom for you.
4. And believe that God will give the greatest rescue to you.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Without Jesus, all of us were bound to perish because of our sin. But Jesus died for our sins and rose again to give new life to all who trust in Him. As He said in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
*This new life, eternal life belongs to everyone who believes in Jesus. Paul explained this in 2 Cor 5:17-21. Listen to these verses today from the Living Bible:
17. When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun!
18. All these new things are from God who brought us back to himself through what Christ Jesus did. And God has given us the privilege of urging everyone to come into his favor and be reconciled to him.
19. For God was in Christ, restoring the world to himself, no longer counting men’s sins against them but blotting them out. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others.
20. We are Christ’s ambassadors. God is using us to speak to you: we beg you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, receive the love he offers you--be reconciled to God.
21. For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us!
*We all need the goodness of God’s abundant life. We need His love, joy and peace. We need refreshing waves of His forgiveness, comfort and wisdom.
*Life can be a whole lot harder than we like to admit in church. On the surface everything may seem fine. But sometimes our problems can be overwhelming.
*A church in Modesto, California asked members to turn in anonymous prayer requests. Each week the church prayed for the concerns. Then they took them to the foot of a cross in the sanctuary. They left the cards there until Easter, when everyone was reminded of the transforming love and power of God.
*These cards were the heart-cries of people in that church. But they also reflect the pain that’s in every community. Here’s a sample of the secret needs from the church in Modesto -- problems big and small that Christ wants to heal through His abundant life:
-"Sometimes I come to church just to see people. Worship is second, visiting is first."
-"I know where everyone thinks I will end up, and I am scared to death that they are right."
-"I want to quit my job, but I don’t know how to do that without hurting and disappointing people and making a big mess."
-"I love my spouse of many years. I love my lover of many years. One relationship is blessed. One relationship would be scorned if revealed, as I would be scorned. I feel guilty that I don’t feel more guilt.”
-"I’m jealous of my best friend. I want to be free of those feelings and just be able to love."
-"I have always felt inferior to almost everyone in almost all things."
-"I’m lonely."
-"I have trouble saying ’No’ and it’s killing me."
-"I will be humiliated if anyone finds out I’m going bankrupt. I act like I have it all together, but I’m so over my head. I feel like an irresponsible cheat and loser. I hate it. What would people say or think about me if they found out? I don’t want to know."
-"I am afraid." (8)
*What are you going to do with problems like these? Take them to the cross.
-Ultimately, the only answer for all of our problems is found in John 3:16. As Max Lucado said, “The heart of the human problem is the heart of the human. And God’s treatment is prescribed in John 3:16.” (2)
*“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
-We have to believe in Him. -- Will you do it? Think about who Jesus is and all He can do as the choir lifts up the Lord in this song, “Jesus Saves.”
*Invitation and prayer.
1. Adapted from SermonCentral sermon “John 3:16 - The Greatest Story Ever Told” by Joseph Wallis - John 3:16
2. “John 3:16 - The Numbers of Hope” by Max Lucado - (3:16 - Sermon 1 from Outreach)
3. Adapted from KERUX ILLUSTRATION COLLECTION - ID Number: 9308 - SOURCE: A Word With You By Ron Hutchcraft #3859 - TITLE: My Name In It - AUTHOR: Ron Hutchcraft - DATE: 10/25/01
4. Adapted from “God’s Whoever Policy” - John 3:16 - Sermon #6 from Outreach
5. Adapted from “HE GAVE” - 3:16 Sermon #3 from Outreach
6. Adapted from “WE BELIEVE” - 3:16 Sermon #4 from Outreach)
7. 04/08/08 - http://corner.nationalreview.com - Also see: michellemalkin.com/2008/04/08/in-honor-of-michael-monsoor
8. Houston Chronicle, 3/22/8, p.F4 (Found in “In Other Words” by Dr. Raymond McHenry, April 2008 #1 - 6130 Barrington, Beaumont, Texas 77706 (800) 553-4697 www.iows.net)
