God’s Love for the World.

John 3:16-21

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New Service times 9:30 on Sunday Morning.

Introduction

On a diet, i want a chicken nugget, fries, and a Coke. I love fortnite, I love games, i love Tik Tok… Do we really know what love is? We can quickly throw it around in relationships. But baby, i love you… Hallmark movies gross. But when that is said, what makes it different? if it is just an emotion, or a feeling you get, is that sufficient, is it enough?

In C.S. Lewis' book, The Four Loves, he says there are four basic kinds of love. He gives them their Greek names: agape—the God-like self-giving love even toward enemies; philia—the love of friendship and camaraderie; eros—the love of romance and desire and sexual attraction; and storge—the love of affection that arises through natural attachment, a child, a dog, a favorite old shabby sweater, a spot in the woods.

John 3:16–21 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.””

Pray

Context

Jesus has been in this dialogue with Nicodemus. Also remember the Jewish hope for the Messiah. They wanted to

Gods’ Love is sacrificial . V. 16 & 17 With looking back to verses 14&15

As we look back at verses 14 & 15 i don’t know how well i hit on verse 14. That the Son of Man must be lifted up. Jesus is referring to two types of lifted up. It is the cross, and his ascension into Heaven. The only hope we have is to look towards the Cross. That is what is so beautiful about the cross in that culture. The cross was meant for murderers, thieves, people who went against the law.

Illustration from the Galatians book David Platt of what the cross symbolizes. Trendy, things, first century Christians would be stunned that “Christians” wear a cross. It would be like if they were to wear an electric chair, or a poison syringe for those in jail who receive the death penalty.

But look at Paul in Galatians 6:14 “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Paul, who wrote the large majority if the New Testament, would be one of the few men who would be allowed in the line of time who can boast. But he does not, because he knows how significant Jesus. how great and how glorious he is.

The love that Jesus shows us is the Agape love. The self giving love. The love that was willing to die on a cross for us. In no way was Jesus guilty to be hung on the cross, but his love for us took him there.

No matter how unloved you might feel from family, friends, classmates, brother sister, cousin, you are loved, and you are loved so much that the God of the universe sent his son to die for you. For me, but also to those people who may not

It is the beautiful illustration of the gospel. Think of the people who put Jesus on the cross. The Roman soldiers, the Jews, every single person that lined up to mock Jesus and have him killed, he died for them.

Verse 17- Goes with Romans 8:3 “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,”

Jesus life was not meant to condemn man kind. Rather to give us hope, real true life eternal life. We have been given hope.

The Jewish people were looking to condemn the Romans, all gentiles. They wanted an earthly king who bring them prosperous, freedom on Earth. God took it one step further, another step further than any man could fathom. It is that all mankind, Jew and Gentile both can have eternal life.

Application

We are to put our faith and trust in Jesus.

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 10:9 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:13 “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

Jesus Exposes the Human Heart . V.18-20

Look at the beginning word for each verse, helps to understand the flow of what Jesus is saying.

V. 18 the beginning is speaking to those who are following Jesus and have a relationship with him. But the latter half shows the unbeliever. And he shows the heart of unbeliever through verse 20.

Ephesians 2:2 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

From our nature that we have inherited from birth, this is how mankind is from birth.

No one can just wake up and say I will do as God says, and the next day, go back to being of darkness, the world.

We might say it, but Jesus is showing the clear distinction in that.

V. 19- judgement is not an eternal judgement in this context. Rather of matter of fact of what is happening, or has happened. The light, Jesus has come and shows the darkness is evil.

V. 20. Those who are wicked/ and things that are evil.

When we think if the word wicked we think of those who are the absolute worst. Those who are openly against Jesus, such as atheists, or people of other religions that directly oppose God. We think of murderers, abusers, thieves, so forth. But remember Nicodemus.

But remember who Jesus is talking to Nicodemus. Nicodemus was apart of the Jewish people, he was chosen. But we see that that pharisees were white washed tombs. They on the outside acted and did all the right things, but their heart was in darkness and evil. That is why Jesus went into the temple and flipped tables. The act was evil and wicked, even though religious people okayed it.

Illustration- Turn off lights, show carpet with flashlight. When I hide my heart from a top line perspective, I can act like a Christian. But when we shine the spotlight of Jesus into our life, he will show us if we are living in the light and have a true relationship with Him.

Application

Are you truly beleiving in Jesus? Does your outspoken faith, correlate or match with your inward wants desires and actions?

Believers test the Light. V. 21.

V. 21 shows That believers freely go to the light to be examined.

Harry Potter, the dementor. hates light.

Show the culture

Sexual sin/ pornography viewing

1 Thessalonians 4:3–5 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;”

Drug use, alcohol abuse, vaping, any sort of substance abuse.

1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Romans 13:13 “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.”

Social media addiction. Tik Tok, Instagram, hours and hours of usage.

Romans 1:21–23 “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

Image, and popularity

Hebrews 12:2 “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

Anxiety/stress

Philippians 4:6–7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Matthew 6:25-34. Go home and read it. Main verse is Matthew 6:25–26 ““Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

Anger, going against what your parents way. You know better, your parents just don’t understand.

James 1:19–20 “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

Colossians 3:8 “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”

This last one i want to approach gently, and it is depression.

Our culture thinks depression is an emotion. And the “cure” for that is medication, or self help. But in some ways there is a lack of hope to overcome it.

Positive thinking

2 Corinthians 10:5 “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,”

Spiritual healing

Romans 12:1–2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Show the opposite, Christ likeness.

How/ Takeaways

Unbeliever, look to the light of Jesus, and his unconditional love for you. He has given you the ability to run to him and put your faith and trust in

Loving people? Why? Jesus loves us to go to the cross for us to receive eternal life. We should also do whatever it takes to take the gospel to the people, and we do it through love.

This is all comes back to the love that has been shown to us.

Small Group questions

What is the type of love Jesus has shown us?

What does Jesus love for us expose?

How should followers of Jesus love like Him?

Who is someone you can share the gospel with this week?