God Loves You

You know, I am I have a hard time. Just preaching on one verse. I like to preach on lot of versus but this works we're going to be talkin about this morning. If so many people and it's just probably one of the most well-known verses in the whole Bible and we're going to continue our series on investigating Jesus. That shows us who got is who Jesus is by Looking Through The Gospel of John. And we're going to be looking at just one small part of a, a conversation that Jesus had with a man named Nicodemus. No, Nicodemus was an influential leader. Of the Jewish people in the Jewish religious group called the Pharisees. He was even on this ruling Council over the Jewish people called the Sanhedrin. So, he was a very important man, and he met with Jesus in secret at nighttime because he was curious about Jesus, but he was afraid, what the other Pharisees were going to think about him. And he was afraid, that he would be punished, because the Pharisees were against Jesus. They didn't like Jesus at all. They thought he was a heretic. They thought that he was going against everything that they believed, because he claimed to be gone. But before we dig into that conversation in that verse, in a particular, let's take a minute to think about something that that we bump into every day that you probably experienced or hear about or see about everyday. And it's something. So, you might not even notice it anymore. You think about the the music on your playlist. Maybe it's a classic love song. One of the grapefruit or Frank Sinatra, or one of the more popular singers he's days or maybe a new country tune on the radio. You think about the shows that you can stream on Netflix, the books that you read? Are you going to ask that pop up on your phone. And there's one thing that they all seem to have in common, they circle around 2 and that's love. That's love you hear a lot about that. You said about that, people have been writing songs, I've been making movies and telling stories about love as long as we can remember, it's really hands-down. The biggest topic that's out there. You take a song like Sweet Caroline, that every Everybody sings at a ballgame, but I don't know if you have but I have been to a ball game where they were, they saying that or a movie like Titanic was his epic romance that they still make soup. Prineville, they seen it time and time again, and think about those Hallmark movies on the Hallmark commercials that talk about a warm fuzzy feeling that is love and romance. And so world is everywhere that you look and everywhere that you listen, it's like the background noise in our lives work were drawn to it and maybe we're even a little obsessed with it. But there's there's one thing even though the world is all about love, it doesn't always get it, right? The people around us, the people riding the songs of people, making the movies, don't get it wrong and too often. It's just like a quick rush like a fling, that that fizzled out, or it's got strings attached. Like I'll love you. As long as you make me half of your, it's shaky and it fades and it leaves us feeling empty and broken hearted. But today, I want us to talk about a better kind of love something, something deeper something. Last and if you had the boil, the Bible down to just one word, I would say it's love, it's God's love letter to us and it's God's love letter to you personally, not just the whole world and a generic sense. But to you, as a, as a person and if you had to pick one verse to capture that letter, it would be John 3:16 brother seat already earlier in the Christian Standard Bible that it reads like this. For God, loved the world in this way, he gave his one and only son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life. And so that's a verse that most of us are familiar with it, with her have heard, but it's not just a feel-good line for a bumper sticker, it's not some slogan. It gets really the heartbeat of everything that we believe as followers of Jesus Christ. And it's about a love. That is so real. And so powerful that it changes everything and it changes our perspective on what love really is and so weak. We seeing this bird that there are, there's so much to unpack and it we're going to look at that. We're going to look at three different things about about this verse in and we're going to talk about the reality of God Did It, Real? Is it is the real thing. We're going to talk about the result of God's love what happened, because God loves us. And then we're going to talk about our response, the God love. How, how can we respond to this little? Bit is so great and so wonderful. A, my hope is that, by the end of this study, you'll see how much you're loved and what that means for your life. But before we get into that, let me lead us in a war prayer and ask God to to move in our hearts as we said his word this morning. Family. Father, I'm so grateful for those who have been drawn to your house this morning, those that they could make it this morning. I know there are many who are out sick and and I might be dealing with the aftermath of the storms, but the Lord, I just pray that you would touch each of us this morning. Your Holy Spirit. I would work Among Us. And in each of our hearts or pray that we would be open to learning more about you. And even up yet, this is a verse that that we've all heard for years and years since we were a child, I pray that it would have a new and and fresh mating to us this morning that it would touch you. I sent and it was also Inspiring us to go out and challenge us to go out and share your love with those around us. Father, I pray for our missionaries this morning that are out there. Sharing the gospel down the street, and all around the world that you would bless them and work through them to share the gospel. And or we, especially pray for those that are in home missions. As we are celebrating, the Annie Armstrong offering a little. We pray that your blessing would be upon them and their families that you would lead and guide them to reach more people. I pray for a church that we would do the same and that's gone Jesus name. Amen. So let's start with the reality of God's love the reality of God's love the verse. The first part of this verse says for God, loved the world in this way. For God, loved the world in this way. And these words, this praise our rent, it's very important. It shows us what God's love is really like And it reveals two really big trees about God's love. First of all that God's love is perfect. God's love is perfect and then we also learn a little bit later. We're going to talk about the fact that God's love is personal so that phrase in this way or you're your translation, they say God, so loved the world, those are both ways of saying that God loves us in a unique way. He is not that he loves us a whole lot, at the volume of his love, though. He does, but it's really telling us about how he shows his love and what we learn in scripture all throughout the Bible is that God's love and his way of loving is perfect. There's no flaw in it. There's nothing wrong with the way he loves us, but our love not so much. And you think about it, how many times have we sweat people down? And, and the way that we express our love to them or maybe People who show love as long as things go their way, they express their love as long as you do the same thing that they want you to do it or I'll care as long as you don't mess up and make my life miserable. And you know even those of us who have a long relationship with our husbands are wise. We we snap them after a long day. We don't express our love in a perfect way. We we can hold a grudge against the co-worker or someone else that has done us wrong or we can pull away from people when things get rough things, get messy in that relationship. So our love has walls. I love our love is mixed with frustration and selfishness. Or just plain worn out a year, your account tire, that person, but God's love is different. In fact, is in 1st, John 4:8, it says the one who does not love, does not know God. And here's the key because God is love. It's not something that God just feels, it's who he is. His very nature is love and so that means his love doesn't fade. When we mess up his love is still there for us. It doesn't shrink away from us when we are a mess and even it in Romans 5:8, Paul writes that, but God proves his own Love For Us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us, what that means, is it even when we were running away from God, and maybe you are still running away from him today. God still loves you. Even if you're stuck in a, in a messed up life, he still loves you. It's a love. That doesn't wait for us to get cleaned up before before he shows his love to us. He does want us to clean up our lives. He wants us to become more like Jesus, and we can do that by following him, but, but we don't have to get our lines right before Jesus loves us. He loves us even while we're still in the midst of sin. And it's not just talk, it's action. God's love the something huge and it will get that just a minute, but it's perfect because it didn't never wavers. It never quit. It never runs dry. There's a beautiful pathogen in Lamentations 3:22 that says because of the Lord's faithful love. Will you do not perish for his mercies? Never end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. So, every morning even after your worst day, or for your first night is love, is still there. It's as solid as ever. I've heard a story about a woman named Lisa who was going through a really difficult divorce and that she felt like she had failed, her kids or family for sale in one night when she was alone, she did open up her Bible. And she happened to open it to John 3:16 and read these very words for God, loved the world this way. And it hit her. Like a wave. God's love. Did walk out on her, like her husband, is it stained? It was steady? It was strong, even in her lowest moment. Even in her most difficult time. And that's what perfect love, does it, it holds you up where everything else around you crumbles to the ground? So God's love is perfect. Its unending its new everyday and his Mercy for us is renewed every day. And then we see that God's love is personal. We see that in this verse as well, where it says, God loved the world. You might think. Okay. That's, that's a big deal. But he loves everybody but the world here means every single person in the visually You included. It's not just a blanket statement is thrown over everyone. It's a love this design for you. And for me each person here today, there's a beautiful verse in Psalm 139, the talks about God's love for us as individuals. God's love for us personally not just some distant far out, love where it says, Lord you have searched me and known me, you know, when I sit down and when I stand up, you understand my fault from far away? You observe my travels in my wrist you are aware of all my ways before a word is on my tongue. You know, all about Lord. That's not a God that distance. He doesn't know. She doesn't know what's personally. That's a God who, who knows everything about us even are are intimate, thoughts that we don't share with anybody else. God knows that God knows what we're up to in our life. God is there. Looking to connect with us to have a relationship with us, he desires to have an intimate relationship that that we can have with him in the Bible says that God, even knew us before we were born. It says in psalm 139:13 for it, was you who created my inward Parts, you knit me together in my mother's one, what a beautiful picture, God newest, God put us together. Even before we were born, he knows what makes us pick. Who knows the fears in the worries that we have. He knows the dreams and aspirations that we have and God knows everything about us. He knows your late-night worries, what you're going to order for coffee in the morning and even the stuff that you don't tell anybody else, His love isn't some far-off thing. It's close and it's real and it's personal for each and everyone of us. And when Jesus went to the Cross, he wasn't just dying for people. Just this generic turn. He had you in mind when he died on the cross, to pay for our sins. Galatians 2:20 says, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life. I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, that's Jesus. Listen to love me and gave himself for me. That's not generic how well that is a love. That was for you. And for me, It is for you for me, think about that fact that the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me. If you were the only one who dated you were the only person on Earth he still he still going to the cross and die for your sins and maybe you felt overlooked in your life or you felt unloved. But I want you to hear this day. God loves you in this way. His love is perfect is love it personally and that's the reality that we're starting with let's talk about is after which was thought about reality was think about the result of God's love you see God's love doesn't just sit there. It's not something that's passive, it leads to something huge and it says that he gave us his son and that passage. It says he gave his one and only son that that's hard for us to comprehend. But Jesus isn't just anyone, he's God's one and only son fully God himself. But he became man to step out of heaven and to live a life as a man and pay the penalty for our sins. And last week, if you remember, we studied John 11. Where do we learn that? In the beginning was the word and the Word was God, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, that's Jesus! He was there from the very beginning before the universe was created. He was there. He was part of the Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and God gave him to us something so important, something so precious. Think about giving up something you've never part with. Maybe you're fairly a family heirloom that's been passed down from year to year, or maybe your dream car that you just got in. You, you wouldn't want to give that up now. Imagine giving up your only child hard for me to process thinking about that. But that's what God did. And he put his love on a, on a whole different level. You see, Jesus stepped down as he stepped into our broken world and he took on our struggles just like we face each and every day. He felt the same things that we feel. All because God gave him freely in Philippians 2:6 through 8 talks about Jesus, the sacrifice and his willingness to do that. It says, Miss speaking of Jesus, who existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God is something to be exploited. Instead, he emptied himself by seeming, the form of a servant taking on the whiteness of humanity. And when he becomes a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death. Even to the death on a cross. You see, Jesus didn't claim to be in God and all his power and glory and heaven, but he became human, he stepped down in to his own creation. He was rejected by his own creation. He was rejected and not recognized by his own people that the Jewish people and he went to the Cross, because that's a little, because everything, that's a love, that's willing to pay any price. Now, I heard about a guy who donated his is only working kidney to, to save a stranger. Imagine that. And when I asked him, why he didn't said love gives what's most valuable And that's just a little glimpse of what God did for us and you know, the cross wasn't a back-up plan, it wasn't his plan B 1st. Peter 1:20 says Jesus was chosen for this even before the world began. God's love cost him dearly his son was handed over for us. So why didn't you do it? Why did he give himself up? Well, he did it because he needed to providing a way for us to be safe. God gave us a savior. And, you know, the Bible says, we're in serious trouble. And Romans 3:23 says, for all, have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That means everyone of us. Everyone here today and everyone that's ever lived has messed up. We've lied. We cheated. We put ourselves first in the Bible says that the penalty for that sin. Everyone has committed. Everyone has done wrong things and rebelled against God and then the penalty of us in or the wages. Is it to cross? The Scribe in this verse is for the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ. Jesus, our lord. Praise the wages of sin is death is not just dying someday. Although that's part of it because of sin came into the world, we have to experience a physical there, but it also means being separated from God forever and forever. And that death isn't just our bodies giving out it. It's a lot worse than that. It's been cut off from God. And he'll a place that Jesus described as real, and terrible and Matthew 25:41. He calls it. The Eternal fire prepared for the devil, and for his angels and it Mark 9:48. It's where the worm does not die in the fire is not quenched with some folks, hell is a real thing. It's not just an imaginary place that this made up in the Bible. It's real. Jesus said it himself. It's not just punishment and that's bad enough. But it's total isolation from everything good because God is the source of all goodness, Madden. Alive With No Light, No Love, No, ho forever and forever and that's what's in Kearns us. Hell is not a scare tactic. It's a natural end of choosing my way, over God's way pulling us away. From the one who made us for him in without rescue. That's where we're all.

And let's talk about God's character here because it does play into this idea of sin and judgment and hell and it's because God is Holy. That means he's he's perfectly good, he's perfectly pure and he's perfectly just and send that stuff that we do wrong but the things that we do goes against everything that he is he can't just shrug it off because he's a fair, he's perfectly fair and just and wrong has to be dealt with wrong, has to be punished. But here's the amazing part. He's awesome, merciful. And he's loving and instead of wiping us all out, like, we deserve, he chooses to love us tobacco. 113 says, your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. And so we see that he's too pure to have evil in his knit button. In Psalm 103 8 News, the beautiful Park. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love. And that's why Jesus Christ died. Because job. Justice, demanded a price. It's a man of the penalty for him to be perfectly fair and just there has to be a penalty for that wrongdoing. But Jesus is Love. God's love paid for it himself. He paid that price instead of us his character holds both things together. He's too holy to ignore our but he's too loving to leave us in it. And being a center is not just about being a bad person or are breaking these big rules being a center. Men's means we missed the mark of who God made us to be. It seemed a little stuff like when we like the Dodge trouble or are we were jealous of a friend's new car. It's the big stuff to like hurting someone we love or are they the ones that we typically think of of murder and adultery, those kind of things. Those are those are big Sands but they're all single ever since. Even the smallest ones are our sins and they're wrong and Gonzales. And so it's it's really our selfishness in our Friday thing. I'm going to do things my way God. I'm not going to follow your way and your will and it be the person that you want me to be. I'm going to be selfish and do things my way. But the wonderful thing was seeing as passages that is it being a center isn't just a condemnation to be a worthless thing that God doesn't care about it is about being human and about being broken and about needing help that we can't give ourselves. And so that's exactly where God's love me to us right in the middle of all that mess. And so, John 3:16 is the rescue where he says he gave his one and only son. And then a second Corinthians 5:21, says he made the one who did not know, send. That's Jesus to be sin for us. So, that, in him, we might become the righteousness of God. He took all of our garbage. All of our regrets. He paid the penalty for our sins and then he beat Death. He conquered death in the grave and he rose again on the third day, so that we could live in so that we can have an abundant life and live with God forever and forever. So think of it this way, imagine you racked up a huge debt. You couldn't pay. So you maxed out on a credit card and someone stepped in clears that death pays for it all themselves and says you're free. And that's what Jesus did for us. He created us and then he saved us with his wife, and that is the result of God's love. So, we talked about the reality of God's love. We talked about the result of God's love of him. Sending your son, Jesus died on the cross. Now, let's talk about our response to God's love. Can we sing that God's love what God's love is and what it does and now it's higher move and that verse says and 3/16 so that everyone who believes in him, will not perish, but have eternal. Why it says everyone who what believes in him, it's not automatic. We have to choose it. We have to choose to believe any Seasons to eight and nine says, For you are saved by grace through faith and this is not from your cells. It is a gift of God, not from work so that no one can boast. Its, that means it's not about learning it. It's not about doing things enough, good things to get into heaven because the Bible says, we can't do enough to get into heaven will never earn our way into heaven, but it's about believing in Jesus about trusting him with your life and it's more than believing that Jesus existed. Because many people in this world believe that Jesus was a real person in history but it's about believing and trusting that he is gone. He is God's son and that he came to die for our sins. If it's about leaning on him completely with our lives. And it's about saying, Jesus. I messed up and I can't fix it. There's nothing I can do in my power to fix it, but you can and I'm counting on you. John 1:12 is a, is a beautiful verse that says, but to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those, who believe in his name. You know, the world says, you're all right, you're fine. I'm fine. Do things on your own do things yourself. But faith says I can't I can't do it on my own. And I need Jesus because Jesus can. And then a Romans 10:9, it says, if you confess with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord. And you believe in your heart, that God raised him from the dead, you will, they say? It's pretty straightforward in it. You just have to trust him. But maybe you're here this morning and you think maybe I've gone too far. Maybe I've done too much wrong, but there's no way that that's true, no matter what we've done. Can't save us and he's willing to do that. Think about the thief on the cross. He was being crucified right next to Jesus. And he trusted in Jesus. In his last moments, ask God, to say to ask Jesus to save him. And Jesus said today, you'll be with me in Paradise. That means Jesus was willing to say no matter what he had done and it's never too late. It's so here's the wonderful promised it that we have if we received Jesus as we trust him with our lives. If we do that, we get to be with Jesus forever. That last part of that verse says, that not to ever believe everyone who believes in him, will not perish, but have eternal life so that were parishes is at Penn State Oral separation. From God being cut off from him forever but eternal life means we get to be with him forever. And John 17:3 says, this is you are wise. If they may know you the only true God and the one you have sent Jesus Christ to it starts right now, then we give out of Jesus, he changes he forgives us of our sins but then it doesn't stop, there goes on forever and ever and knowing him than finding peace. Peace that passes all understanding. Peace will last forever week, we have a beautiful picture of what will get to experience one day and Heaven, if we've given our lives, Jesus Christ says Andrew more Revelations, 21 3, then I heard a loud voice from the throne. Look. God dwelling is with humanity and he will live with them. They will be his people's and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more greasy crying in pain will be no more because the previous things have passed away, imagine that no more hardship, no more sickness, no more pain, no more loss, No More Goodbyes. Just Jesus in Jesus Friend. So whatever his way down, whatever you have that, you think might be keeping you back from having a relationship with Jesus. You can give it to him and God's love Promises of future where everything is going to be made, right? And you can spend forever and forever with him. So where does that leave us? Where does that? How does that compare to the songs and movies. When we talked about it, we see every day in our lives they're just they're just Shadows of the real thing, but God's love is bigger. It's greater, it's perfect, it's perfect. When our look Pratt, it's personal when we feel alone, And it's costly when hours hesitates and it's forever. When Irish Runs Out, God's love is greater than anything we could ever imagine, but he's willing to give it to us. And so In this passage this morning we see that God love this heat. He Loves Us in a real way. A way that is beyond anything that week ago and it's God's Part B W open. So he loved you before you knew it he gave his son to save you. And he invites you to trust him with your life. Somebody you've been chasing love this morning or in the past it. But doesn't last two relationships or after work, or or through other stuff. But today, I want you to hear this for God. So loved you and this way Did he gave his one and only son to die for your sins so that we might have eternal life a love that lasts forever and that's the truth that we can all hold onto today. We're going to have the time of the invitation in just a minute and I want to give you the opportunity to respond to what God is saying to you this morning. You know, the Bible says that God goes after us even are saying Even in our rebellion. And if you've never given your life to Jesus Christ, this morning, this is the opportunity for you to respond to that. Love that is is going after you and I hope that she will respond to that love. And it should be willing to ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins, to trust him with your life, to believe that he is the Son of God, that he, he died for your sins and you want to call him. Forever and forever. So let's pray. We will have our time with response. Billy father we are we are so amazed by Your Love. It's so perfect. It's a person and it's so strong. Thank you. Thank you. Father for giving us. Jesus, who was willing to step out of Heaven, to come walk among his creation to be rejected by his own creation. And then to be crucified on a cross, the six spirits of terrible death and take our sin upon him to pay that only, he could pay. And pay it for us in our place. Lord, I'm thankful that so simple for us to put our faith and trust in you that we don't have to learn that that but you're willing to give it to us freely until this morning. I pray, there's someone here has never given her heart to you. Lord. I pray that you would draw them to yourself that they would step out in faith and and follow you. Pray for the rest of us here that that have a relationship with you. You would help us to have a burning passion to reach. Those people who don't know you. Because Lord, we know the hell is real, and there is a penalty for our sins. And we know that there is a lost and dying world out there and it's the Lord. I pray that we would not keep it to ourselves, but that we would go out until the people that you put in our line about the good news of Jesus. And then we would do it today. And swore we love you and pray all this in Jesus name.