Sunday, May 24, 2020

John 3:16 Pt 3


There are no notes for John 3:16 Pt 2. That was entirely from the heart as that was what I was led to do. However, it is on our youtube channel if you want to rewatch it. 

Glen

Seven Wonders of John 3:16 pt 3


Members Only


I know what I’m about to tell you is going to come as a shock to you. When I was in elementary school I actually played outside a decent bit. I lived in a neighborhood close to the High School. There were a lot of kids my age in it at that time. In the summer, we would build forts in the woods. Then we would create a club! I wish I could remember a single club name we thought of, I’m sure a list of those would be solid gold! The club would go well for a day or two until eventually a fight would break out between two or more of the members. We would all take sides over whatever issue we were fighting over. Like that garbage chair we found abandoned in the words should be in this corner or that corner, ghostbusters is or isn’t the best cartoon, or whose the best wrestler Hulk Hogan, or Ric Flair? Flair of course, let’s not be ridiculous. 


Once we reached an impasse and sides were choosing one half would leave and go start there own club. Then the kid that was out of town would come back and have to chose a side and once he chose one side he was excluded from the other! Until, we all made up the next week and started the whole cycle again. 


If you think about it, our whole lives are dealing with exclusion and limitations. You must be this tall to ride, tickets are sold out, only members are allowed in here, there are no positions available at this time. Fill that away while we dig into John 3:16 pt 3 Members Only



John 3:16 “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.”

Nicodemus has come to Jesus at night to discuss things with him. Who is Jesus? Why does He teach the way He does? How can he do these miracles? What was that business with the temple tables? Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel, gets the answers to all his questions but not in the way he expected. He finds out that good works won’t get him into heaven, but faith and grace.

·       It’s while Nicodemus is trying to process that that Jesus gives us the most familiar verse in the Bible, 


John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

There are 7 wonders to be found in John 3:16. Pastor & Author David Guzik listed them as such.



God
The Almighty Authority
So loved the world
The Mightiest Motive
That He gave His only begotten Son
The Greatest Gift
That whoever
The Widest Welcome
Believes in Him
The Easiest Escape
Should not perish
The Divine Deliverance
But have everlasting life
The Priceless Possession



Two weeks ago we talked about God, The Almighty Authority. In our family devotion time recently Sam asked “Daddy, where did God come from?” I told Him. God is eternal. He always has been, always is and always will be. It was fun watching his 8 year old brain trying and comprehend this. It was a great moment as a father to see my son contemplate the concept of eternity for the first time. John 3:16 starts with God, The Eternal All Powerful maker of the heavens and the earth. 


Then we saw the mightiest motive, love. Not the temporary conditional love that the world offers. I love you until it’s no longer convenient or no longer benefits me. God’s Love is that Agape love, a statement of commitment evidenced by unconditional sacrifice. We’ve all made sacrifices for those that we love. The greater the sacrifice, the greater the love on display. We make minor sacrifices for strangers, giving up a seat, letting someone in front of you in the check out line. The biggest sacrifices are reserved for those that we love the most. 


John 15:3 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”


 God, in demonstrating His love for us, made the ultimate sacrifice. When He gave His only begotten Son. This was the greatest sacrifice, and the greatest gift. Who is this gift for? Whosoever. What does that word even mean? The English definition is whoever, whatever person. Yet, that doesn’t really give it justice. 


The Greek is the word Pas. It includes all forms of declension (ways of categorizing things), all, any, every, the whole, all manner of, all means, always, any, any one, ever, everyone, every way, as many as, thoroughly, whatsoever, whole, whosoever. It is the most inclusive word possible! 


How much of daily life, or our lives have revolved around exclusion? I mentioned this in the opening. We all know what’s it like to miss out on something, to be excluded. Given my utter lack of athletic talent it shouldn’t be surprising I typically got excluded from sports during recess. When we took the kids to Universal there were certain rides the younger ones couldn’t go on due to height/age restrictions. We see people excluded for every reason imaginable. Your to young, to old, the wrong color, race, gender, ethnicity or religion. You pull for the wrong team, the wrong political party, or you wear the wrong clothes. 


Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with us personally, it could be limitations on the place we are trying to enter. I missed out on many a concert simply because they sold out of tickets. Once Me, Pastor Drew and our friend Jared went to Greensboro to see the band Disciple in concert. We got there and they were sold out. No more room in the building! We were so close! We were so excited to see this concert! We planned to stand by the door and listen to them in the parking lot! Eventually, we talked our way in. Then we watched as others got turned away. 


It could be just a limit on the item we are trying to obtain. In that there are more people that want than they are of the item trying to be obtained. I remember my parents frantically trying to obtain a tickle me Elmo back in 96 for my sister. Right now it’s Toilet Paper and Paper Towels that are scarce. 


However, when it comes to the greatest gift, God’s Son, given by the greatest giver (God, The Father), for the greatest reason (Unconditional love) it’s available to everyone. EVERYONE! The Greek word Pas for whosoever is the most inclusive possible word! No one, No one. Is excluded, for any reason from the gospel, ever. The Widest Welcome! 


Whosoever does what? We know the opportunity is available to everyone but what does it require? Is there a complicated admission process? Do I have to right an essay? Is it one of those interviews where you have to answer random questions like why are manhole covers round? What kind of animal would you be if you were blind? Are you competing with all these other people? Most of the things we want in life are finite and more for you means less for me. 


Whosoever believes in Him. 


The admonishment to believe occurs frequently in the Old and New Testament. What does it mean to believe? 

 to think to be true; to be persuaded of; to credit, place confidence in; We place our faith in lots of things and those things all let us down at one point or another. When the car doesn’t start. When the electricity or the internet goes out. When the fast food place gets your order wrong. We expect these things to work and when they don’t we are surprised, we are disappointed. We want everything to work perfectly all the time to our benefit and when it doesn’t, we get mad. We take it out on other people.  We go on rants about how terrible the system is, people are, etc. 


What this reveals is two fold. 1) That the world is sinful and fallen. 2) That we placed our faith in the wrong person, place, thing or idea. 


Jesus tells us where all our faith and believes should be centered. In Him. The only way out of this sinful world and into an eternity of sinless perfection is Him. His love. His provision. His plan. As Christians I would dare say that the majority of you would give intellectual acknowledgement to that statement. I acknowledge that statement. Then I see something terrible on the new Covid 19 related or not and I’m like how terrible! God how could you let that happen? How could that be part of the plan? 


Mark 9:17-27 The following happens

17Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

19He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” 20Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.

21So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”

And he said, “From childhood. 22And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

23Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

24Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

25When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.



I relate to this father. I relate more so to his sentiment in Mark 9:24 “I believe; help my unbelief!” There’s a lot of us like that. We believe, but then the difficult times come. Maybe we have faith at first but it continues and continues and only gets worse. Days turn to weeks, weeks into months, months into years. We pray, we make offerings, we call upon “holy men”. Yet nothing changes. We wonder if God maybe has forgotten about us. Yet, because of the cross we know this isn’t true. Jesus raised the man’s child back to life.

Hebrews 11:1 “ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.


Jesus is our great and easiest escape. There’s nothing we can do because there is nothing to be done. It was all already done on the cross. We simply trust in the fact that the work is done, because we believe in the one who did it. 


The glory of the resurrection of Jesus is this Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” –Jesus understands what you are dealing with even when no one else does. Therefore we can boldly go to the throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Thank God this week for being a whosoever, and for the grace in that belief. 
   

Saturday, May 16, 2020

John 3:16


Seven Wonders of John 3:16

The Ancient World was said to have seven wonders. The classic seven wonders were:

·        Great Pyramid of GizaEl GizaEgypt the only one that still exists.

·        Colossus of Rhodes, in Rhodes, on the Greek island of the same name.

·        Hanging Gardens of Babylon, in Babylon, near present-day HillahBabil province, in Iraq.

·        Lighthouse of Alexandria, in AlexandriaEgypt.

·        Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, in HalicarnassusAchaemenid Empire, modern day Turkey.


·        Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, in Ephesus (near the modern town of Selçuk in present-day Turkey).

·        Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled from antiquity to the present day, to catalogue the world's most spectacular natural wonders and manmade structures.

·        The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the first known list of the most remarkable creations of classical antiquity; it was based on guidebooks popular among Hellenic sightseers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim and in Mesopotamia. The number seven was chosen because the Greeks believed it represented perfection and plenty, and because it was the number of the five planets known anciently, plus the sun and moon.[1] Many similar lists have been made.

Also, not included in the original seven there is of course the 8th wonder of the world, Andre the Giant! Tonight’s message is only one verse. John 3:16. It has long been celebrated as a powerful, succinct, declaration of the gospel. Of the 31,102 verses in the Bible, it may be the most popular single verse used in evangelism. Tonight we start discussing the seven wonders of John 3:16



John 3:16 “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.”

Nicodemus has come to Jesus at night to discuss things with him. Who is Jesus? Why does He teach the way He does? How can he do these miracles? What was that business with the temple tables? Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel, gets the answers to all his questions but not in the way he expected. He finds out that good works won’t get him into heaven, but faith and grace.

It’s while Nicodemus is trying to process that that Jesus gives us the most familiar verse in the Bible, John 3:16. And this is an explanation of verse 15, ’cause Nicodemus is going to be saying to himself, “Why in the world would God do this? Why would God give eternal life to anybody who just believed in Him? Why would God not reserve eternal life for the people who kept the rules, right? For the people who followed the Law, for the people who kept the Sabbath, for the people who were traditionalists, for the people who were zealous for holy things, did the ceremonies, offered the sacrifices?” Wait a minute. Why does eternal life get to be given to whoever believes, and not just Jews that believe but whoever believes? How can this possibly be?

John 3:16 “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.”

There’s so much in this one little verse! It’s in part why it’s so popular. How much time have you actually spent pondering this verse? Until I had to do this sermon I kind of took it for granted. It’s a verse we all know. We have seen it on signs, billboards and heard it quoted countless times. Children memorize it at Bible School. There’s a sense where we know it so well, have hard it so much, that it has become white noise to us. That’s why I want to spend a decent amount of time breaking down this verse. Be prepared this will be more than one sermon. There are 7 wonders to be found in John 3:16. Pastor & Author David Guzik listed them as such.



God
The Almighty Authority
So loved the world
The Mightiest Motive
That He gave His only begotten Son
The Greatest Gift
That whoever
The Widest Welcome
Believes in Him
The Easiest Escape
Should not perish
The Divine Deliverance
But have everlasting life
The Priceless Possession



How does this verse start? The same way everything has started, God. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” To Quote Rebecca St. James
He made the night, he made the day, Spread the earth upon the waters, make the heavens and the rain,
Look at the sky; see its design, The very same creator is the one who gives life.
And what is man that he's mindful of us? We're merely clay in his hands, What am I that he loves me so much he would die? You know, all I can say is It’s God.”



Now that we know the who is providing salvation we have to ask why? Love. The World. Love is another word that we think we know but we really don’t.


We use it for everything. I love my wife, I love my kids, I love cheese and coffee. Then there’s the confusing but understandable I love you but I don’t like you. The world frequently interchanges love and lust as the same thing but they are not. Lust is selfish, Love is sacrificial. Lust is conditional. Love is unconditional.

The Biblical concept of love, as it is used right here, is a statement of commitment evidenced by unconditional sacrifice. In it’s over 130 appearances in the Bible it’s used to describe three things.

The first and foremost is that it describes the attitude of God not only towards His only begotten Son but to all of his children. Whether or not they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ or not. I want you to ponder on that for a moment. God loves Jesus, you and me, and the people that we despise most. Not only does He love us, He loves us all equally! 


Second, this is how God wants us to love one another!  Love thy neighbor as thyself! In the gospel of  Luke. The Pharisees and Sadducees were constantly trying to get Jesus. They wanted him to slip up in some way. So they tried trick questions and in Matthew someone asked what is the greatest commandment?  Jesus answered and cut right to the heart of the matter.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'38 This is the first and grea
t commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

So what’s the difference between loving your neighbor and loving your neighbor as yourself? We all love ourselves. We’re very concerned about our own welfare, our own comfort, safety, interests, health, etc. We have a hope we want to realize it. We have a desire we want to fulfill it. We have a need we see to it that it gets met. Is that how we treat other people? Are we even that good to our friends? Our family? Our spouse and children? What about random strangers? This is a difficult command. In fact it’s an impossible command.


It’s difficult to love folks, because love is messy. What’s the most loving thing you can do for someone? Give them the gospel, both in word and deed. But Glen! You say. Those people aren’t deserving of the gospel. Agreed. Neither are we. No one is. 


Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”

Just like Nicodemus, we struggle with loving others. Yet, it’s not about whose deserving, it’s about who God loves and how He loves them! Unconditionally. 


Thirdly, love is not just something that God does. It defines His very nature. Love can be known only from the actions it prompts. God's love is seen in the gift of His Son, 1Jo 4:9, 10. But obviously this is not the love of complacency, or affection, that is, it was not drawn out by any excellency in its objects, Rom 5:8. It was an exercise of the Divine will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause save that which lies in the nature of God Himself, Cp. Deu 7:7, 8. Simply put God loves us because He loves us.

Who is this love directed toward? The World. The word her for world is Kosmas. Yes, that is where we get out word cosmos. There are some slight differences in the pronunciation but none that can be said with a southern accent. The Bible uses this word to refer to a couple of things. 1) The whole of creation, the universe. 2) All of humanity. 3) the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ.

God loves mankind. It doesn’t mean that He’s going to save everyone who ever lives. That’s pretty clear because verse 18 talks about the ones that are going to be judged ’cause of their unbelief. From this point forward we don’t hear anything else out of Nicodemus. He just stands there in silence. Who knows how much of this he is actually processing? 


What happens to Nicodemus after this? I imagine he walks away stunned, silent, confused, maybe sad, maybe angry, definitely humbled. A theological bomb just went off in his life. This meeting didn’t go at all the way he planned it. Many of us hear the truth of Christ and then walk away. We do not want to change our lives. We are happy and comfortable the way things are. We are going to trust in our works and our “basically a good person” theology. Nicodemus may have done that inintially but we see him two more times in John. 


The second time Nicodemus is mentioned, he reminds his colleagues in the Sanhedrin that the law requires that a person be heard before being judged (John 7:50–51). He does this coming to the defense of Jesus. 


Finally, Nicodemus appears after the Crucifixion of Jesus to provide the customary embalming spices, and assists Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the body of Jesus for burial (John 19:39–42).


Listen carefully. The free offer of the gospel is broad enough to include the worst sinner who believes. Did you get that? The free offer of the gospel is broad enough to include the worst sinner who believes. Even the chief of sinners; Paul said he was. Listen, the gospel is narrow enough to exclude the most moral religious unbeliever. The most moral, religious person on the planet that he hopes in their good works will be excluded by the gospel. The most, corrupt person on the planet who trusts only in Christ—the gospel is wide enough to embrace them. It’s by faith alone.




Sunday, May 3, 2020

How much I don't know


John 3:10-15

How much I don’t know

Show of hands how many how many of you have heard the saying “ The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know? It’s attributed to Albert Einstein. A man whose name is synonymous with intelligence. As sinners, it is incredibly hard to admit we are wrong about something. The longer we have thought something to be true the harder it becomes to admit it to be wrong. The reality is that we are wrong all the time. 


When I still had my Information Technology job for the bank I was at a site working on a printer. I was trying to make it work a certain way and that way wasn’t working. A customer, a retired gentlemen said “Sonny, you are doing that all wrong.” I at least semi-sarcastically backed up from the printer, gestured towards it as if to say “Be my guest.” What does this guy know right? He then proceeds to solve my problem in a matter of seconds. After I closed my mouth I thanked the man repeatedly. The other bank employees got a huge kick out of seeing the know-it-all IT guy humbled by that man. Lesson learned.

Tonight, Nicodemus comes face to face with how much he doesn’t know. 


10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?


Last time we see that Nicodemus, pharisees, Sanhedrin member, has approached Jesus at night because he had questions for him. He had heard about Jesus, that he taught like no one else taught and that he performed miracles. Is he a prophet? Is he a false prophet? Is he just misunderstood? What was all that business with table flipping at the temple the other day? He wants to know so he goes right to the source and asks. 


Jesus explains that no one works or earns there way into the kingdom of heaven. That they must be born again. All over the Bible this idea of rebirth, occurs. 


1 Peter speaks of being born anew by God’s great mercy (1 Peter 1:3)  1 Peter speaks of being born anew from an imperishable seed (1 Peter 1:22-23)  James speaks of God bringing us forth by the word of truth (James 1:18)Titus speaks to us of the washing of regeneration (Titus 3:5)  Romans speaks of dying with Jesus and rising anew (Romans 6:1-11)  1 Corinthians speaks of new believers as new-born babes (1 Corinthians 3:1-2) 2 Corinthians speaks of us being a new creation in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17) Galatians says that in Jesus we are a new creation (Galatians 6:15)  Ezekiel 36 talks about God’s promises that a time is coming when there will be a transformative new beginning, characterized by spectacular cleansing symbolized by water that washes away all impurities and idols, and by the powerful gift of the Spirit that transforms the hearts of people. That is what is required if people are to see and enter the kingdom of God. 


Nicodemus just had his entire world flipped upside down. He realizes the truth of Jesus words but he also realizes the implications that it implies. His entire life has to change and it will cost him everything he has worked his entire life to build. “How can these things be?” He says. 


Jesus answers his question with a question. He picks at him a little even, showing that our Lord has a sense of humor. Are you the teacher of Israel? Here was Nicodemus, the Pharisee experts in the law, Sanhedrin member best of the best. They were considered the teachers of all of Israel. There’s some studies that suggest Nicodemus was at least in the top three teachers in Israel, if not considered the highest ranking teacher of all Israel. 


Before we get on Nicodemus to much for being stubborn and taking so long to come around lets look at two things 1) He did come around, and 2) He actually was open to having a discussion with Jesus. How many other Pharisees or Sadducees took the time to have an actual conversation with Jesus? How many were just trying to prove him wrong?  


How much conflict could we remove from our lives if we took the time to talk to and understand someone vs. just trying to prove them wrong? Think about that for a minute the next time you want to reply to someone on social media.

Jesus continues, are you THE teacher and you don’t know? It’s hard to admit when we don’t know something. No matter how much evidence is presented to us that shows that we are wrong. A lot of our self-worth is tied up in being right. Here Nicodemus THE teacher, is being schooled by a humble carpenter. He’s being faced with an increasing mountain of irrefutable evidence. He does the wisest thing he could do in this scenario. He stays quiet and listens. 


11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe; how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man [a]who is in heaven

Jesus uses the word We here. You see that in some of his conversations and illustrations as well. Some view this as a reference to the trinity, others are think he might be referencing all the people after Him that will proclaim the gospel. Some think it’s an editorial “we”. This is a common concept in languages all over the world.

Why use the we at all? Deut 19 lets us know that at the mouth of two or three witnesses facts are legally established. This could easily tie into We as a trinity reference as well.

“That is a really stunning statement because what Jesus is saying is, I am telling you what I know and what I have personally experienced. I’m not giving you second-hand information. You’re not getting second-hand information from Me. It’s not like a prophet came to you; it’s not like a preacher came to you; it’s not like an apostle came to you to give you what he had received from God, I am speaking to you what I eternally know and what I have eternally experienced firsthand” – John MacArthur


You have ignored our witness. You have heard my words. You have seen my works. You know what the scriptures say about me. Yet, you pharisees, you Sanhedrin, you reject my testimony. If you don’t believe the things that I have already told you why would you believe when I tell you more? You buried under the weight of the truth I’ve already given you. Adding to that pile is not going to help. Nicodemus just tried to get his cup filled by a firehose.



. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should [b]not perish but have eternal life


Jesus then gives him an analogy. Another Old Testament reference for the old testament scholar. He says as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of Man must be lifted up. 


What is Jesus talking about? Why was Moses handling snakes? How could that possibly help anyone? 


This is a reference to Numbers 21. Israel is wandering the wilderness after being freed from Egypt. Due to their own stubbornness and sin it has not been a smooth journey.

Numbers 21:4-9

Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very [b]discouraged on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul [c]loathes this worthless bread.” So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

It was faith that healed the Israelites in that. They repented, then they believed the words of the Lord through Moses. They were saved. Jesus says the same thing to Nicodemus. You don’t have to understand it all, you don’t have to know it all, you just have to look to me, just like the Israelites did with that bronze snake, just look to me in faith and you will be healed. 

The same thing applies to us today that we just have to look to Him in faith, and there is salvation. The people were saved not by doing anything, but by simply looking to the bronze serpent. They had to trust that something as seemingly foolish as looking at such a thing would be sufficient to save them, and surely, some perished because they thought it too foolish to do such a thing. We are no different today. No willing to admit how much we don’t know and to place our faith in God instead of our own intellect. 


Isaiah 45:22Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. We might be willing to do a hundred things to earn our salvation, but God commands us to only trust in Him – to look to Him.