I think I know the reason that so many like that song is because of some questions that are raised, such as:
• Did ever saint find this Friend forsake him? NO, NOT ONE!
• Was ever a gift like the Savior given? NO, NOT ONE!
• Will He refuse us a home in Heaven? NO, NOT ONE!
But this song not only asks some interesting questions, it also makes some very wonderful statements, such as:
• There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus, NO, NOT ONE!
• There’s not an hour that He is not near us, NO, NOT ONE!
• No night so dark but His love can cheer us, NO, NOT ONE!
• Or sinner find that He would not take him? NO, NOT ONE!
What makes this song such a great song is the message that it conveys to us about the GREATNESS OF THE LORD JESUS!
Illus: This song is not like many of the modern day contemporary songs that are known as 7-11 songs. The reason they are called 7-11 songs is because they consist of seven words and they sing them eleven times.
The song, “No, not one” has a real Bible message that tells us about the wonderful Savior who loves us and died for our sins. But if you really want to know about the greatness of the Lord Jesus, you have to turn to the Word of God.
Most people know enough about the Word of God to know that God is Omniscient - HE KNOWS ALL!
But there are some things that God does NOT KNOW-
I. GOD DOES NOT KNOW ANY PERSON WHO HAS NOT SINNED
• Look at Rom. 3:10, we read, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one."
• Look at Rom. 3:23, we read, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
God’s Word states that we are all sinners. This is something He knows. How much clearer can He state it? “There is none righteous, no, NOT ONE."
Many folks get angry with Bible preachers when they preach that we are all sinners. But this is true, whether we want to hear it or not. All of us are in this predicament together.
Illus: The only difference between those of us who are saved and those who are not saved is that we have come to the Savior and asked Him to forgive us of our sins.
God’s Word says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Illus: Most of us, at one time or another, have played with darts. We would place a dartboard across the room, and we would take turns throwing darts at the dart board. You throw your dart and you might miss the bulls-eye by only an inch. I throw my dart and I might miss it by a foot.
But the fact is, we both missed the bulls-eye, and God says when it come to the things of God, we have ALL HAVE MISSED THE BULLS- EYE.
We live in an age where people do not want to be told the truth about their spiritual condition. If a Bible-preacher starts to preach the truth of God’s Word and tell them they are hell-bound sinners, they find another church where the preacher will tell them, “I’m alright and you’re alright!”
But I am not ALRIGHT, and YOU are not ALRIGHT. That is why the Lord Jesus had to come and die for our sins, because if He had not, we all would perish.
Whether they like to hear it or not, it is the TRUTH according to God’s Word, we ALL ARE SINNERS!
Illus: People like this make you think of a person who has a serious physical condition, and they go to the doctor and tell him, “Doc, I help pay your salary, and I want you to tell me I AM IN GOOD CONDITION, even if I AM NOT!”
It would be ridiculous for someone to go to a doctor and make such a demand.
But yet there are some who make such demands when it comes to their spiritual condition. They want to be told they are in excellent condition spiritually, but the fact is they are in terrible condition spiritually.
WHY DO MANY THINK THEY ARE IN GOOD SHAPE SPIRITUALLY? For several reasons:
(1) SOME BECAUSE OF COMPARISON
That is, they will find someone in worse shape than they are in and say, “I am in excellent shape compared to them.”
Illus: These people make us think of two fellows who go to the doctor and both have been diagnosed as having cancer.
One has just been diagnosed, and the other one’s condition is much more advanced.
But suppose the one who has just been diagnosed says, “I do not have a thing to worry about, I am in great shape compared to him!” This is true to some degree, one has a lot more cancer cells than the other, but THEY BOTH HAVE CANCER.
Unless the cancer is treated and cured, it will kill both of them eventually. One might be put in the grave before the other one, but the cancer is eventually going to put both of them in the grave.
The same thing is true with many spiritually. God’s Word says ALL HAVE SINNED. This sin will destroy all of us unless we come to Christ and let him cure us. Some may die and go to Hell before others, but eventually all who die in their sins will go there.
People feel they are alright. SOME BECAUSE OF COMPARISON and …
(2) SOME BECAUSE OF RICHES
Some feel because God has bless them with the riches of this world, that God must be pleased with them. But what they fail to realize, is this: the Bible teaches the GOODNESS OF GOD IS TO LEAD US TO REPENTANCE.
Look at Rom. 2:4 “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”
God pours out his blessings on the lost that they might be appreciative and come to Him for forgiveness. But many worship the BLESSINGS He has blessed them with, but not the “BLESSER” Who has blessed them!
The riches of the world have become their spiritual monitoring devices. That is, they are saying to themselves, “I MUST BE ALRIGHT, GOD MUST BE PLEASED WITH ME, LOOK AT ALL THE MATERIAL THINGS I POSSESS.”
The riches of the world are not SPIRITUAL INDICATORS that reveal our spiritual condition.
Illus: Some of the most ungodly people in the world are loaded when it comes to material things, but they are bankrupt when it comes to spiritual things.
The same thing can apply to churches. They have wonderful facilities but God may not even be there.
God told the church in Laodicea, in Rev. 3:17, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”
MATERIAL RICHES OF THE WORLD are not a SPIRITUAL INDICATOR that reveals our spiritual condition.
God knows every one of us are sinners in need of forgiveness, and God is willing to forgive and save all that come to Him.
GOD DOES NOT KNOW ANY PERSON WHO HAS NOT SINNED, and….
II. GOD DOES NOT KNOW ANY PERSON HE DOES NOT LOVE
Look at 1 John 4:9-10, we read, "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, BUT THAT HE LOVED US, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
We sometimes meet folks who actually believe that no one on this earth loves them.
Illus: Have you ever seen an old mangy hound dog walking down the road looking for food? Probably at one time that dog belonged to someone, but for some reason they put him in the car one day and drove off to some deserted spot on the highway, opened the door and put that dog out.
It makes you wonder how a person could do such a cruel thing and be able to sleep at night.
Then weeks later we see that dog on the side of the road, and he is now so skinny that his rib cage is showing. He goes to people’s houses trying to find food in their garbage cans, and people would throw rocks at him and run him away.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS SAD ABOUT THAT DOG? That dog does not have a friend in this world…NOT ONE!
Many people feel that way. They have been:
• Rejected by their family
• Shunned by their neighbors
• Abused by others
They are convinced that NO ONE cares for them.
But I am here to tell you that based on the Word of God, there is NOT A SINNER THAT GOD DOES NOT LOVE! NOT ONE!
Every human on the face of the earth may turn against a person, but the Lord still loves them, and wants to save them and give them an eternal home with Him in heaven.
Illus: As bad as Asama Ben Laden is hated by the majority in the world today as a terrorist, God loves him.
God does not love their ways, but God loves them. There is not a sinner that the Lord Jesus did not die for. But there are folks who believe that no one loves them, not even God.
Those who think this do not know the God of the Bible. Look at 2 Peter 3:9b, "The Lord is … not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
He does not love their sins, but He does love the sinner.
Those who think God does not love them, don’t understand some things about God They do not know that …
(1) WE DO NOT EARN THE LOVE OF GOD
There is not one thing you and I can do to earn the love of God, NOT ONE THING!
Some feel because they have:
• Done too many terrible things
• Failed too many times
God does not love them.
The Bible is filled with people who failed God many times, but God’s love for them is not based on them EARNING HIS LOVE.
Now that is certainly the way we humans work. Our love is based on:
• Treat me right, I will treat you right
• You scratch my back and I will scratch yours
• You love me and I will love you
We mortals work on this TRADE RELATIONSHIP!
But there is not one thing you and I can do to earn the love of God. GOD DOES NOT KNOW ONE SINNER THAT HE DOES NOT LOVE. God loves us even when we are not LOVABLE!
The apostle Paul said he was the CHIEF OF SINNERS, but still God loved him.
Look at 1 Tim. 1:15, we read, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."
We do not earn the Love of God and …
(2) WE DO NOT LOSE THE LOVE OF GOD
One of the painful experiences in life is to have someone that WE THOUGHT LOVED US, cut their love off LIKE WE CUT OFF A WATER SPIGOT!
• This happens in marriages
• This happens in neighborhoods
• This happens in our families
• This happens in our churches
This is devastating!
But here is the good news about God’s love:
• He loved me yesterday
• He loves me today
• He will love me tomorrow
Jer. 31:3, we read, “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an EVERLASTING LOVE: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
In this life we may be forsaken by those the Psalmist spoke of in Psa. 27:10, "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up."
GOD DOES NOT KNOW ANY PERSON WHO HAS NOT SINNED, GOD DOES NOT KNOW ANY PERSON HE DOES NOT LOVE, and …
III. GOD DOES NOT KNOW OF A BETTER TIME TO BE SAVED THAN NOW
Look at Isa. 55:6, we read, "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near."
Look at the word “near”. God’s Word says we are to call upon Him WHILE HE IS NEAR! The Lord is HERE today, and all you have to do is call upon Him and He will save you.
The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
The death spoken of here is SEPARATION.
Illus: One day there will be people in Hell crying for God to save them. I believe the most pitiful cries that will ever come from the lips of mankind will be in Hell.
But Hell is a place where people are separated from God. They may fall on their faces to the ground and cry at the top of their voices, but those cries will never be heard by God.
The Bible says, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near." Salvation is available right now for all who will come to Christ in faith.
GOD DOES NOT KNOW OF A BETTER DAY FOR YOU TO BE SAVED THAN TODAY.
If you miss this golden opportunity, it may be that you will spend eternity in a devil’s hell.
Conclusion:
I. GOD DOES NOT KNOW ANY PERSON WHO HAS NOT SINNED
II. GOD DOES NOT KNOW ANY PERSON HE DOES NOT LOVE
III. GOD DOES NOT KNOW OF A BETTER TIME TO BE SAVED THAN NOW
