What
is God like? When the subject of God comes up today the ideas are vast and varied.
Childrens views of God
A)The two most popular views
of God in the Secular world today couldnt be more different.
B) On the one hand you have
those who picture God as being:
1)Uptight
He is angry at the World. He is hard / Cruel / Carries a Big stick
Waiting step out of line
C)
Those who see God that way: Also picture him as unfair / out of touch / and a
Bigot.
Now
on the other end of the spectrum are those who see God as sort of a big softy :
He is broad minded / understanding and
relaxed.
A)All loving grandpa who
just loves his people and is glad they are trying.
B) Only the truly wicked
individuals like Hitler and Charles Manson is God really angry with.
C) Well here in John Ch.3
those two opposite views about God Collide with the real truth!
D)The story revolves around
our Lords encounter with a religious leader by the name of Nicodemus.
When
it came to being a good person Nic was as good as they come he even genuinely
wanted to please God
A) As a Pharisee he had
devoted his life to studying the law of God and trying to follow it as well
as
B) His life is dedicated to
teaching others what it means to live according to the law of God.
1) V.10 Jesus calls him the teacher in
C)
But as right and religious as Nicodemus was He knew that there was something
wrong Missing in his
life was a Peace he saw in Jesus
1) An assurance that God was
with him - Nic just didnt have
D) SO intrigued by Jesus and
his ministry Nic decided to set up a meeting
1)
Jesus in the mist of the meeting reveals the problem You MUST be born
again!
Spiritual Birth !!!
Now I am sure
that there are those today who would read this story and say: Jesus you are being way too narrow.
A)Not
being tolerant / Narrow minded fundamentalist.
B)You should be affirming
Nic in his religion/ commending him for his good deeds
1) Complimenting him on his
spirituality.
B)
Jesus was not interested in being politically correct He was interested in
Nic being saved.
1)He was concerned for his
soul
2) The problem was in all of
his religiosity Nic had missed the boat. He was climbing the wrong ladder.
C) So Jesus tells him Nic
you MUST be born again. Nic respond
How
Jesus
gives him the How in V.16 There He gives the greatest description of the
Heart of God in Probably all of the Bible.
A)Balance Loving Father /
Perfect Judge.{ Truth and grace / Mercy and Justice all beautifully collide in
this verse to give us a great Picture of God.
16 For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have everlasting life
DL Moody was preaching in
England Young Preacher named Henry Moorehouse came to hear him Young man Moorehouse was bold If I ever come
to Chicago could I preach at your Church. Moody agreed thinking probably
never come
Next summer
Moody received a telegraph coming could he still preach Moody reluctantly
agreed. He was going to be out of town one Sunday
anyway
A)Moody returned in the
middle of the week asked his wife how was the young man On Sunday
B)Sunday he was great
every night since then great too. { Preaching every night?
1) Better than you
C) He is telling sinners
that God loves them. She declared she had never before heard someone proclaim
the love of God like this young preacher
D)
Every night he has preached from the same verse
Deeper and deeper Mrs.
Moody insisted that Moody go listen for himself. He did and was deeply
moved
C) Been said of Moorehouse
He was the man who moved the man who touched millions
1) From that point on Moody
Boldly and clearly shared on the love of God.
A)He sees the world in a very
different way than we do. When he looks at the world He sees what we often
try to ignore.
B)He
sees the hurt in people's lives, the shame that fills their hearts, the misery
they are going through.
1)He
sees drug-wrecked lives, & those who are bored and feeling the
meaninglessness of life.
C)
He sees murder, violence, hatred, bitterness and anger.
1)
He sees greed, oppression, child abuse, famine, death, tears, depression and
fear of every kind.
But
he sees more. He sees that all this anguish of life is a direct result of the
attempts we are all innocently
making to find fulfillment for ourselves.
A)The result of people
ignoring Him and doing only that which was right in their own eyes.
B) But his reaction to that
is not one of anger, hatred, or ruthless justice.
1)
According to this wonderful verse, God's reaction is compassion.
C) He was moved to act He
gave His Son!
1)
Love and Justice hand in Hand -
D) When God looks at the world
He sees the sin / the rebellion But he loves the sinner
1)
His heart goes out to the sinner!
His
love is Not selective: This verse flings its arms around the world not just the
Jews or the white people, the rich people, or whoever. {
A)This
verse flings its arms around the people of all five continents, all the islands
of the sea, all colors, backgrounds and states of life.
A)
God's love and compassion goes out to all.
Hyper Calvinist all wrong Not limited
.
B) But here is the thing: As
God He is also a Judge: Being a just Judge
He doesnt just ignore sin / wrong doing.
1)
Doesnt just forgive and say: It is ok try not to do it again. Wouldnt be
justice
C)
Would not be right: Same way Bank robber Burglar Forgive ok off hook
1)
That was not JUSTICE! NOT RIGHT
2)
Problem: SIN has to be punished !
D) At The very core of who
God is He is JUST HE HAS TO BE RIGHT
1)
Solution: He gave His son !
V.17
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Jesus
didnt come to condemn the World He could Have:
A)That
is why, in every vignette we have of Jesus in the gospels where he is dealing
with acknowledged, open, blatant sinners, we never hear a word of condemnation
B) He didnt come to Condemn
them He came to save them.
1)
Show Life Provide the way to God.
Story
of a Young man estranged from His Father Mother wanted him to come home for
Christmas But he wasnt sure his dad would want him or had forgiven him
Mother
said Let me talk to him Forgiven I will give you a sign White rag on the
tree next to the railroad tracks closet to their .home, which he could see before
the train reached the station.
If
there was no rag, it would be better if he went on.
So
the young man started home.
As
the train drew near his home; he was so nervous he said to his friend who was
traveling with him,
"I
can't bear to look. Sit in my place and look out the window. I'll tell you what
the tree looks like and you tell me whether there is a rag on it or not."
So
his friend changed places with him and looked out the window.
After
a bit the friend said, "Oh yes, I see the tree." The son asked,
"Is there a white rag tied to it?"
For a moment the friend did not say anything.
Then he turned, and in a very gentle voice said,
"There
is a white rag tied to every limb of
that tree!"
That,
in a sense, is what God is saying in
A)God has removed the
condemnation and made it possible to come freely and openly home to him.
B)Because He Tied not a
white rag to a tree but his son to a tree
Who is that Salvation and
forgiveness available to? Anyone who believes!
A)V.16 Those who believe
will not perish but have eternal life.
B) Believe: Not just
intellectually { - Cling to trust in rely upon. It means to put your full weight on
something. CHAIR -
1)
It speaks of a total commitment to Christ.
Barth this I know
C) Promise: Eternal life-
Not just a longevity of life Quality of life.
1)
Begins now V.18 tells us where it starts -
18 "He who
believes in Him is not condemned;
D)
No condemnation for those who are in Christ
1) God sees us Holy - Righteous
But what about those who
dont believe: What about those who reject ?
v.18b but he who does not believe is condemned already, because
he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
They
are already condemned:
A)When I visit a prison I
dont have to convince the prisoners that they are condemned they know it.
- Why they are locked up
B) Same is true today of
mankind man is condemned He is in a prison called Guilt
1) Tries to escape tries
to forget { Still there Prison bondage to sin
C) Feels
it Guilt of it He cant get away from it. Awaiting our fate.
Two
states of living: Condemned or uncondemned
A)Well why would anyone want
to be condemned ? Good question?
B) The Lord answers it in V.
19-20
19
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men
loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the
light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
C) Men love darkness
rather than the light!
A Minister
and his unbelieving barber were walking down the street as their conversation
turned to the love of God. Said the barber to the preacher, "If God was as
loving as you say, why does He permit all the poverty, disease, and squalor
that exists in the world? I cannot believe that a loving God would permit these
things."
The minister was silent until they met a man who was especially unkempt and
filthy. His hair was hanging down his neck and he had a half-inch of stubble on
his face. Then he said, "You cant be a very good barber or you would not
permit a man like that to continue living in this neighborhood without a
haircut or shave."
Indignantly the barber answered: "Why blame me
for that man*s condition? I cant help it that he is like that. He has never
come into my shop; why, I could fix him up and make him look like a million
dollars, if hed only let me!"
Giving the barber a penetrating look, the minister said: "Then don*t blame
God for allowing people to continue in their evil ways, when He is constantly
inviting them to come and be saved. The reason people are slaves to sin and
evil habits is that they refuse the One
who died to save and deliver them."
The barber saw the point. Do you?
A)People are
condemned because they dont come to the light.
Light exposes
A)Never see well lit bars
dont expose me 10am drinking
B) Well lit clubs people
are doing things dont want to be seen-
C) That is also why those
living in Sin Dont like to be around those who are living for Jesus
1) Their light exposes
D) Christian unsaved
friends are not going to be able to take a steady diet of you
E) Christian your friends
who are living in a back sliden state are not going to like having you around
for the same reason.
1) Put a damper on their
darkness
Sign
of our conversion: Hate the darkness -
Two states of
existence Hate the Light or come to the light.
Joe was
a drunk, miraculously converted in a street outreach mission. Before his
conversion hed gained a reputation as a derelict and dirty wino for whom there
was no hope. But following his conversion to Christ, everything changed. Joe became the
most caring person at the mission. He spent his days there, doing whatever
needed to be done.
There was never anything he was asked to do that he considered beneath him. Whether
it was cleaning up vomit left by
some sick alcoholic, or scrubbing toilets after men had left them filthy, Joe
did it all with a heart of gratitude.
He
could be counted on to feed any man who wandered in off the streets, undress
and tuck him into bed, when he was too out-of-it to take care of himself.
One evening, after the mission director delivered his evangelistic message to
the usual crowd of sullen men with drooped heads, one of them looked up, came
down to the altar
and kneeled to pray, crying out for God to help him change.
The
repentant drunk kept shouting, Oh God, make me like Joe! Make me like Joe! Make me like Joe!
The director leaned over and said, Son, wouldnt it be better if you prayed make me like Jesus?
After thinking about it for a few moments, the man looked up with an
inquisitive expression and asked,
Is He like Joe?
What a great story and what a powerful way to live. Are you living your life in
such a way that you are reminding people of the only forgotten Son of God?
My
wife and I are going to celebrate 20 yrs of marriage this week
A)Anniversary is actually in
July CR trip so this week carve out a day to celebrate
B) But 20 yrs ok I was asked
the question Would I take her to me my bride I said yes
1) She was asked the same
question: Yes as well thank God
C) At that instant, by virtue of our expressed
willingness to
commit to one another, Denise and I entered into a special love relationship that has forever
changed our lives.
The Bible tells us that, "God showed His great love for
us by sending Christ to die for us," (Romans 5:8 N L T)
Centuries ago, God gave an answer to the question of
whether or not
He was willing to enter into a love relationship with us.
Through His coming to earth in the person of His
Son, He answered that question with a resounding, "Yes!"
Through graciously giving His one and only Son, God
has expressed His willingness to give Himself to us.
Now, the question is put to each of us. And if we answer "Yes, I am willing give myself to Christ,"
then we will enter into a personal love relationship with the glorious God of
the universe that will forever change our lives.