“GOD LOVES YOU!” John 3:16
FBCF – 8/28/22
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Brian Regan, comedian – “Me Monster” – people who dominate conversations to talk about themselves & all their accomplishments
This is a sermon about me, & it’s a sermon about you. We’ve got a lot in common. It IS interesting that, in spite of having to deal w/ the occasional “Me Monster,” we can usually find something in common w/ nearly anyone we have a conversation with. Talk long enough w/ someone & you’ll find out that they lived in same town you did years ago, or that their grandfather & your grandfather worked together, or they like the same football team you like.
Here's one BIG thing that we have in common: God loves YOU & He loves ME! How’s that for some good news today?
EXPLANATION – John 3:16
Jesus just loved people. Didn’t matter who they were, what their background was, how messed up their lives were, how deep they were mired in sin, He just loved them.
- He loved a woman caught in the very act of adultery
- He loved Zacchaeus – a lowdown, cheating tax collector hated by everyone
- He loved people who had leprosy, a disease that caused them to be the outcasts of society
- He loved a demon-possessed maniac who lived in a graveyard & who would break the chains that people would try to bind him with
- He loved a Samaritan woman who had been married 5 times & was living w/ another man who wasn’t her husband
And he loved Nicodemus, a wealthy Pharisee, one of the leading rulers among the Jews. Jesus regularly clashed w/ the Pharisees, but there’s something different about this encounter w/ Nicodemus. John 3 is the life-changing conversation that Nicodemus had w/ Jesus
APPLICATION – No matter who you are, no matter where you’ve been, no matter how you’ve lived or how far away from God you think you are, God loves YOU!
God loves YOU:
YOU WHO ARE IN THE WORLD – “For God so loved the world…”
Many of you have seen my grandsons, Jon Anderson & Cameron, come running up to me – “Hey Pops!” – Thrills my soul for them to do that! Grab them, hug them, kiss them, “Pops loves you SO much!” That word “SO” – “I SO love you!” Gives emphasis to the statement. Gives greater weight to it.
God loves you SO much! Several translations of John 3:16 say it that way: “God loved the world SO much…” YOU who are in the world – God loves you SO much!
Think about the “world” – the whole cosmos of men – the entire human race. John Piper: “It is the great mass of fallen humanity that needs salvation.” (https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/god-so-loved-the-world-part-1#tension-in-john-3) He loves the entire human race SO much w/ a love that cannot be fully comprehended. His love for us is unconditional, meaning that there is nothing you can do to make Him love you more & there’s nothing you can do to make Him love you less. His love for you is not based on anything you do to earn His love – He simply, fully, completely loves you b/c He IS love. He loves YOU who are in the world.
And He loves…
YOU WHO NEED A SAVIOR – “…that He gave His only Son…”
You’re like Barabbas in the Bible. He was the career criminal, sitting in a prison cell, condemned to death for murder & insurrection, when the cell door swung open & someone said, “Jesus is going to die instead of you. You’re free to go.” What a moment! Barabbas had not done anything to deserve his freedom – in fact, he deserved death. But he was set free b/c someone else paid the price for his sins for him.
You & I are sinners just like Barabbas, condemned to die & pay the price for our sins. We need a Savior who can set us free b/c we certainly can’t set ourselves free. The chains of our sins are firmly locked on our hands & feet. The prison bars are completely impenetrable. The cell door is permanently locked & the key is nowhere in sight. The death sentence has been pronounced. We are completely doomed. Until the door is opened & someone – not just anyone – but the ONLY one who can take our place steps in & announces that we are set free. Our Savior – the only begotten – the only One, one of a kind Son of God – has taken our place. Our guilt has been placed upon Him. Our death sentence has been transferred to Him. He will die in our place. He will hang on the cross that we should have hung upon. Instead of our blood flowing out of us, His blood will pour out of Him. He suffered so that we would not have to suffer. He was forsaken by His Father so we would be accepted. He died so that we would not have to die.
He loves YOU who need a Savior. And He loves…
YOU, WHOEVER YOU ARE – “…that whoever believes in Him…”
I love the word “whoever” – “whosoever” (KJV)
Includes EVERYBODY!
- Go to football game this fall at State or Ole Miss – If game is sold out, you’ll be surrounded by 62-64k people. ALL of them are included in the the “whosoever.”
- Take a trip to NYC – Surrounded by about 18 million people in that metro area. ALL of them are included in the “whosoever.”
- Fly to China – Might fly on an Airbus 380-800 (largest commercial airliner flying today) – If flight is full, you’ll be surrounded by about 850 other people. When you land in China, you’ll be surrounded by about 1.4 billion people. ALL of them on the flight & all of them in China are included in the “whosoever.”
And there’s YOU – right in the middle of the stadium full of people – right in the middle of Times Square in NYC – right in the middle of the seats of that giant airliner flying across the Pacific, or standing right in the middle of the sea of people in China – there’s YOU – YOU are included in the “whosoever.” YOU are one of the “whosoevers” who can believe in Jesus. YOU are one of the “whosoevers” who can call on the name of the Lord. And He loves YOU, whoever you are.
And, finally, He loves…
YOU WHO CAN RECEIVE ETERNAL LIFE TODAY – “…should not perish but have eternal life.”
Yes, you heard me right. YOU can receive eternal life today. I know it sounds like it’s too good to be true. But it IS true! YOU can receive eternal life today!
How can this be true? B/c the One who is our Savior is eternal.
- You need to food to live – Jesus is the eternal bread of life (John 6:35)
- You need water to live – Jesus gives eternal living water of life (John 4:13-14)
- You need light to see – Jesus is the eternal light of the world (John 8:12)
- You need a way to get to God – Jesus is the Way, the Truth, & the Life, & no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6)
He loves you SO much that He is ready RIGHT NOW to give you that eternal food & water. He is ready RIGHT NOW to shine His eternal light into your heart. He is ready RIGHT NOW as the Way, Truth, & Life to give eternal life to YOU!
CONCLUSION/TAKEAWAYS – Here’s John 3:16 summed up:
- God loves YOU
- God gave Jesus
- You believe right now
- You live forever
Who’s ready right now to believe & receive Jesus as your Savior & Lord?
