"god Loves You!"

“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.