The Unconquerable Love Of God

John 3:16

The Unconquerable Love of God

Introduction - Listening Well Leads to Success

Erik Weihenmayer is blind, yet on May 25, 2001, he reached the peak of Mt. Everest. Suffering from a degenerative eye disease, he lost his sight when he was 13, but that didn’t stop him. On a mountain where 90 percent of climbers never make it to the top—and 165 have died trying since 1953—Erik succeeded, in large measure because he listened well.

He listened to the little bell tied to the back of the climber in front of him, so he would know what direction to go.

He listened to the voice of teammates who would shout back to him, "Death fall two feet to your right!" so he would know what direction not to go.

He listened to the sound of his pick jabbing the ice, so he would know whether the ice was safe to cross.

When we take a perilous journey, listening well can make all the difference.

The greatest journey you will ever make is the eternal journey God has mapped out for you. Listening well from God will mean life or death, eternal life with God or eternal damnation from Him. Your journey’s success depends on your willingness to listen and follow the call of God.

As we examine the unconquerable love of God found in John 3:16, take note of the three aspects of God’s love.

First, we discover…

THE INTENSITY OF GOD’S LOVE 16a

For God so loved the world…

God has a great depth in his love. He “so” loved the world. Nothing compares to the love that God has for his creation. We see it first in…

His PASSION

God has a passion for you and me. He is a jealous God. He does not want any compromised or shared love. We belong to him. He had such a passion that he was willing to let his Son die for sinners like you and me. His passion reveals the intensity of his love. Then, we see it in…

His PURPOSE

The Father sent Jesus, the God-man, to redeem those who are sinners. Jesus believed in the mission the Father sent for him to do. He desired a relationship with us and “so” loved us that he died for us. His mission statement is found in Luke 19:10

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. LK 19:10

Glory, what a Savior! The intensity of God’s love was so great that he then gave us…

His PROMISE

God’s Word can never be broken. He keeps his word and delivers those who come to him.

All that the Father gives me shall come to me; and he that comes to me I will in no way cast out. John 6:37

It is amazing how much God loves us. He fought the greatest battle known to mankind with an intense love!

Ill – Intense Battle

On October 2, 1864, one of the worst battles of the American Civil War was fought. 2800 Confederate soldiers squared off against 4500 Union soldiers. The battle is forever recorded in American history as one of the worst atrocities that has ever occurred on US soil. After a day of intense fighting, shots continued throughout the night muffling the cries of wounded Union soldiers. Later an eyewitness to the carnage reported that a Confederate renegade walked up to a wounded Union cavalry soldier identified as Crawford Hazelwood and asked him if he wanted to be shot in the face or the back. As the soldier pleaded for his life, he was shot in the face. With the intense fighting and the great loss of life, you would think that the battle had been fought for a great cause, fought for some great strategic value to shorten the war; but, the truth is, the battle was fought over a mineral. It was a mineral so valuable that more wars have been fought over it than gold. The battle was waged for salt. One of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War was fought over Saltville, VA--the largest supplier of salt to the Confederate army.

As great and ferocious a battle the Civil War may have had, none was as great as the battle on Golgotha! Jesus accomplished what no one could ever do…secure our salvation through his death!

Not only do we see the intensity of God’s love but we also sense the…

THE INTEGRITY OF GOD’S LOVE 16b

That He gave His only begotten Son…

God not only had an intensity in his love but he actually did something about it! He would sacrifice his Son and fulfill the scriptures in accomplishing this act. In doing so we find it…

It’s UNBELIEVABLE

It’s what I call the WOW factor…he did it for me? For the Righteous to die for the unrighteous, the Holy for the unholy, the Perfect for the imperfect is inexplicable. Not only is it unbelievable but…