2. God Loves You
Notes
Transcript
Me:
Me:
Welcome to part two of our series, The Gospel According to John. Our goal in this series is to look at five core verses that the apostle John uses to describe Jesus to us. Last week we look at 1:14 and the foundational teaching about the incarnation of Jesus. God became flesh and dwelled among us.
You:
You:
Have you ever stopped to consider what your emotional needs are? Most of us probably haven’t…we’re too busy with work, families, and life to pause and consider our emotional well being. However, your emotions or how you feel plays a huge role in how you live your life. For example, if you feel secure about who you are and the relationships you have, you are probably going to be more confident in how you live your life. If you validated or appreciated…you are not going to spend all your time trying to get other people’s attention or earning their approval. Here’s a big one. Do you feel loved? This is a big one! We are wired to give and receive love. When we feel love, it gives us confidence and a sense of security knowing that there is someone who loves us.
On the flip side of that, it is so empty to not feel love. So we seek it out, in whatever way we can. Whether it’s in relationships or friendships, sometimes even unhealthy or toxic ones because we want to feel love. If this describes you this morning, I’m glad you are here. We want to be a place where you can find love. To those of you who have found a love relationship you understand the confidence and security that relationship give you. We were created to give and receive love.
This emotional need for love is so influential that it’s also one of the reasons why people give up on believing in God. People who have become atheists list the emotional challenges they have with God as a reason why they don’t believe anymore.
Here is typically how the conversation goes. “I’ve gone too far. My life is too messed up. I have been too sinful. God would never want me. God can never love someone like me.”
Does that sound familiar to anyone? I think at some point, we have all had those moments. We’ve done something so bad that we wonder if we’ve finally reached the point of no return! It’s so bad that God has reached his limit…no more love for you. I know some of you have been able to reconcile that issue, but maybe you are here and you’ve never been able to get over that. You don’t believe it or you’ve given up on God because you believe it’s true.
Listen, I believe that if you are here this morning, listening, watching, God wants you to know something very important and that is this: God loves you!
Maybe it sounds too good to be true. So let’s let Jesus explain in his own words.
God:
God:
If you have a Bible or a device, I want you to turn to John chapter three. If you are using the YouVersion Bible app, find in your menu, EVENTS. Then look for Iowa City Church and all of the Scriptures and Sermon Notes will be available for you.
In this chapter, a Pharisee named Nicodemus approaches Jesus at night, so as not to be seen by the other Pharisees. Nicodemus has seen the miracles and heard the teachings of Jesus and he is starting to make the connection the Jesus is from God. He’s not sure what to make of it, be he’s recognizing that God is involved in Jesus’ life. So he wants to figure it out. Jesus throws him a curve ball telling him that if Nicodemus is going to get in on this Kingdom of God thing, then Nicodemus needs to be born again. Essentially Jesus is telling him that there needs to be a spiritual rebirth in his life. Nicodemus doesn’t understand still…so Jesus can’t of challenges him....saying, you should understand, you are one of the spiritual leaders of God’s people! Then Jesus puts it in a way that Nicodemus can understand. He references a story from Numbers 21.
God had rescued his people Israel from slavery. He entered into a covenant relationship with them. He fed them everyday. He provided water and protection. However, all they did was complain and grumble. They were not very grateful. In Numbers 21, we find them cursing God and Moses, wishing they were dead and complaining about everything. So, God honors their complaints and he sent a plague of venomous snakes. The snakes started biting people and they would die. The people immediately acknowledged their sin and asked Moses to pray to God on their behalf to take away the snakes.
So Moses prayed and here is how God answered. He told Moses to make a bronze snake and put it on a tall pole and raise it up. When people where bitten by a snake, they were to look to the bronze snake on a pole and they would live. That’s exactly what Moses did, and that is how people’s lives were spared. In talking with Nicodemus, this is what Jesus referenced. Look at what Jesus says:
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
Jesus is saying that just like Moses lifting up the snake in the wilderness saved those who looked to it, so when the Son of Man (Jesus’ reference to himself) was lifted up. Now keep in mind, no one but Jesus knows about the cross that he is going to die on. We understand looking back…but Nicodemus and the disciples have no clue. A couple things to acknowledge here. Jesus is saying that just like the people of Israel grumbled and rebelled against God…well things haven’t changed. People have broken away from God’s pattern for life and are choosing to define good and evil on their own terms. Chaos, pain and suffering have ensured. Jesus says that if people will look to him on the cross…believe him… they will have eternal life. Keep in mind, eternal life isn’t about quantity, it’s about quality. To live forever in a tortured life would be hell. But to live the best life possible starting now into eternity is eternal life. Does this make sense? I think John 3:16 makes even more sense if we understand the context. So now look at verse 16.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God so loved. Stopped. The word used there has nothing to do with emotions or feelings. The word used there is agape. It means to care for someone. To have a deep regard for them and their well being. To have their best interests at heart. God has deep regard and cares for who or what? The world, or as the Greek word there states, the cosmos. So the people who make up this world. God has a deep, caring love for them.
The world. Let me just check, are you a part of this world? If the answer is yes you need to know…God loves you.
God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. God didn’t send a hug or blew a kiss. God didn’t send a love note or a get well card. God sent a Savior in the form of Jesus. God gave everything because he loved you that much. All of this was done for a specific reason. Look at the rest of the verse.
Whoever. That means all or every. Are you a whoever? Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
So what do we learn?
1. God is love. God deeply loves his creation. He deeply loves people. Why? Because love is a part of his character. Love is what God is. Listen to how John continues his theme of God’s love in one of his letters.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
His point is that if God was made of DNA it would be composed of love. Love goes deep with God…it is who he is. Listen to how the apostle Paul describes God’s love.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul is convinced that there is nothing, nothing in all of creation that can separate you from the love of God. Think about that for a moment. Nothing in creation. You are a part of creation. There is nothing that you can do that can separate you from God’s love. That thing you keep doing that you promise to stop doing but you can’t…God still loves you. That horrible relationship you keep going back to....God still loves you. The guilt from last weekend. God still loves you. The divorce that embarrasses you. God still loves you. The feelings of hate that you can’t shake. God still loves you. The depression that embarrasses you. God still loves you. Your suicide attempt. God still loves you. Your broken promises. God still loves you.
But here’s the deal. God’s love is amazing…it’s truly awesome. However, love that is given and yet not recieved does nothing. Trust me. I tried in 6th grade to express my love to a few girls…and let’s just say, it wasn’t well recieved. God’s love is everything, but do you want it. Listen to the rest of Jesus’ words:
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
God’s love compelled him to send Jesus into the world not to condemn it…even though it needed condemned. Just like the Israelites, we’ve rebelled against God. We’ve chosen to define good and evil on our own terms. We’ve complained and grumbled about what he has provided and decided to strike out on our own…only to find ourselves lost, hurting and desperate. Condemnation is what we deserved, but salvation is what Jesus brought to us. It’s available to anyone if they believe in Jesus. What does it mean to believe in Jesus? Believing in Jesus isn’t a thought that you have, a feeling in your heart, or a prayer that you prayed. To believe in Jesus means that you will give him your loyalty. You devote your life to following and becoming like Jesus. To the ones who devote their lives to Jesus not only experience the love of God, the discover a new and transformed life.
Here’s what John 3:16 tells us:
No matter who you are or what you have done, God still loves you. What will you do with his love?
You:
You:
So what are you going to do with his love today? Here are some options to consider.
Some of you need to be reminded of God’s love for you. This last week hasn’t been good. You’ve been dealing with a broken relationship or the consequences of some really bad decisions. Maybe you don’t feel loved. Today, in this moment, you need to be reminded how much God loves you, no matter what.
Some of you need to believe in that love for the very first time or maybe believe again. God’s love is real, but it’s only life changing when you give your loyalty to Jesus.
For those of you who have experienced the love of God through Jesus, who can you share the love with?
We:
We:
As we wrap this up I want to drive home the depth of what John 3:16 means to us.
In the first 15 years of his life, Tim White’s son Ryan had over 30 surgeries. When he was about eight years old, he was in the hospital for another surgery. The medical staff had already given him the "Barney Juice," a purple liquid with something like morphine in it.
The medical staff then began to roll his surgical bed to the operating room. As usual, we accompanied him to the two big doors that led to the place of surgery. That is where we stopped, and told him all would be okay for the last time before surgery.
This day, as we got to the doors and they opened, he sat up in the bed, looked me in the eyes and pleaded, "Dad, don't let them take me!"
At that moment, my heart was broken. I would have done anything to take him off that bed except for the fact he had to have the surgery. That knowledge didn't ease the pain in my heart at all. I just stood there trembling as the doors closed, and he disappeared. That is when I broke down into tears.
Shortly after, when I was asking God how such a good love could hurt so much, I realized that he had gone through the same thing. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed: Father, if there is any other way, let this cup pass from me. Translated into the language of a child, "Daddy, don't let them take me."
I allowed the surgeons to take my son for his own good. God allowed the soldiers to take his Son for our good. That is how much God loves us.
It has been said that something is worth what someone else is willing to pay. Christ's willingness to give his life shows the value he placed on me.
No matter who you are or what you have done, God still loves you. What will you do with his love?